Littering - or what littering means to us today - is actually a rather modern problem.Quantifying the amount of plastic in the ocean is not an easy feat, and new papers on the pervasiveness of plastic in the marine environment come out every week. It wasn’t until roughly the 1950s that manufacturers began producing a higher volume of litter-generating products and packaging made of materials like plastic. You couldn’t toss a styrofoam cup out of your window back then because there weren’t any styrofoam cups in existence to throw away. Still, the incidences of littering grew swiftly in those short few decades. Increases in littering and illegal dumping contribute to air pollution, land pollution and ocean pollution. For example, approximately 8 million tons of plastic waste finds its way into our oceans every year. It can be difficult to fully comprehend the monumental effects throwing a cup out a window or dropping food packaging on the ground can have. The following littering facts aim to shed light on what littering is, why people litter, how litter affects the environment and what you can do to end littering and encourage others to do the same. Littering is the improper disposal of waste products. While it can happen by mistake (as in an unsecured object flying out the bed of a truck), litter continues to be largely a deliberate act. What are the Most Commonly-Littered Items? Whether it happens intentionally or unintentionally, littering has environmental consequences. Alcoholic beverage containers (beer & single-serve wine).Food packaging (wrappers, boxes, film, styrofoam/expanded polystyrene).Fast food packaging (bags, cups, serving items).In a study by Keep America Beautiful (KAB), researchers found that frequently littered items include: Litter can take a variety of forms, but some items are littered more frequently than others. Unfortunately, these are just a few examples of littering. Cigarettes are the most frequently littered item, with an estimated 9.7 billion cigarette butts discarded along roadways and waterways. The KAB study also found that, since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increased incidence of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), with an estimated 207 million PPE gloves and masks littering roadways and waterways.Īll states have littering laws (with varying degrees of penalties and fees) that make littering illegal, but the top illegally dumped items include household garbage, hazardous waste, appliances, mattresses, furniture and e-waste. In a previous study conducted in 2009, Keep America Beautiful found that 76% of roadway litter comes from motorists and pedestrians intentionally discarding items (as opposed to the 19.9% of litter that comes from unsecured items in the back of trucks or trash receptacles). Litter continues to largely be a deliberate act. But why do people intentionally litter? People have actually conducted studies to answer that question and they’ve found that the answer generally boils down to four main reasons. People who litter out of laziness or carelessness often believe that someone else (a maintenance worker or park employee) will come along and pick up the litter and dispose of it properly. Others may not have been educated on the impact of littering and therefore litter because they don’t know it causes harm, while still others may live in an area where littering is an accepted part of the culture. ![]() ![]() This type of littering behavior is often the hardest to combat. Why is Littering Bad for the Environment?Įven if you don’t litter, have you ever stopped to ask yourself exactly why is littering bad? Other than just being unsightly, litter has serious consequences for the environment and your community. Keep these in mind the next time you see plastic bottles on the ground. Litter Causes PollutionĪs litter degrades, chemicals and microparticles are released. ![]() These chemicals aren’t natural to the environment and can, therefore, cause a number of problems. For example, cigarette butts can contain chemicals such as arsenic and formaldehyde.
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