The read through is such a good idea. Thanks to lilliburlero for thinking of it.

Re the litter theme: school stories I read as a child would occasionally feature a paper chase (the accidental destroying of a crucial piece of paper often being uppermost) so I wonder if paper broke down more efficiently before the 50s? My father, brought up in the 20s and 30s, later found it extraordinary that he and his family would throw fish and chip newspaper wrapping out of the car window.

I think picnic rubbish came into a different category and 'well brought up' families would always have disposed of it properly.