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Jenna Layton Instructor Maari Carter ENC 2135 10 February 2016 Littering Consequences and Inventions Every day we see someone throwing gum out of his or her car window, putting a cigarette out on the concrete, or leaving his or her McDonalds bag or cup next to a car in a parking lot. Littering starts and could potentially end with human behavior. Facts of littering: One of the most profound facts about littering is that it seems to occur in every location along every social sector. In January of 2009, Action Research performed an experimental study that observed littering habits and behaviors in individuals. They observed nearly 10,000 randomly selected individuals from over 130 locations, nationwide (KAB, 1). After studying people at a national level, who were from all walks of Earth and every environmental setting, these researchers were able to find some significant facts about littering. In fact, it was found that cigarette butts seem to be the most common form of litter found on the streets as this was reported, “in 106 of the 130 sites� (KAB, 2). This may not be a surprise, but it was also observed that about 81% of the time, the individual littered their cigarette butt purposefully without even considering putting it out anywhere else. Action Research also found that the younger population seemed to care much less about littering, as they are observed to be the main culprits of
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this crime. Also reported by Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, it was concluded that young adults were most commonly guilty of littering. As stated in the website, “the most likely person to litter, regardless of race, income, and education level is a male between the ages of 18-25.” (http://www.gwinnettcb.org) This statistic was further supported in an editorial titled 9 Interesting Facts and Statistics about Litter from Litter it Costs You. Written in November of 2013 by Luther King, this editorial reported that, “people who would deliberately litter are mainly those between the ages of 18-34 years old.” (King) The research from this study went on to further state, “A study in Tennessee also revealed that the older people get, the more likely they throw litter properly in a trash bin.” And that, “ Younger people tend to just neglect the effects of their actions and do things their way.” (King) These observations prove that the majority of the population guilty of littering are the individuals who are between ages 18-35 as they seem to be naïve and don’t really understand what they are doing when they throw that piece of gum out of their car window or drop their candy wrapper wherever they please. These facts are particularly surprising because some may hypothesize that this population, the Millennial Generation, also had the most respect for nature. After discovering that young individuals were most often likely to litter, I became curious about other research. Will it show the same resounding proof? What might cause a generation, which I thought had the most resources, education, and awareness about our environment, to litter? From my personal knowledge, it seems that we have been the most educated about “going green” and recycling a lot more in my generation, the Mellennials, compared to older generations. Yet research demonstrates my generation is disregarding this knowledge. This leads me to conclude that there is a lack of effort or education in these individuals and if they are
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educated about the negative effects of littering, then they might actually throw objects away in the correct disposal location. On the other hand, I also read about the locations of where littering most often occurs and this was very interesting, but not surprising. One popular location known to be a victim of litter pollution were areas with plants such as bushes and shrubbery. It was also found that in 24 different locations, individuals would throw trash next to or near the garbage bin instead of inside it. Overall, the most common form of littering is simply dropping an object on the ground with no care or thought of throwing it away appropriately. (KAB, 15) After interviews, observations, self- reporting, and statistical gathering, the research suggested that littering was found nearly everywhere, nationwide. If these people knew that, “1. 9 billion tons of litter ends up in the ocean every year.” (King) Would they reconsider their actions? What about the fact that, “This is more than the amount of trash generated every year, weighing up to 250 million tons” (King). This sad truth is one of many that individuals do not know about. It is important to educate our people about littering and how this issue is so prevalent today. In fact, “11.5 billion dollars is spent every year in order to clean up litter” (King). In order to make a difference, local organizations and individuals need to educate their communities about this topic. National research allowed us to understand and see that change is most reliant upon local action. Go to tab “” to hear about the positive news. More facts, can lead to solutions and new ideas will support a cleaner future.
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What are the Consequences of Littering? Animal deaths, cost of clean up, crime, toxic work exposures, and disposal challenges are all factors of littering. It is amazing that by dropping a small piece of garbage could have such a significant impact on our cities, states, and country. Most individuals do not know this, in fact, most individuals are aware of the law and/or have information related to the impact, yet they continue to disregard their disposal of debris such as plastic bottles, cigarette butts, or gum wrappers, to name a few. The first factor of littering to bring up is the cost of clean up. Reported by National Cooperative Highway Research there are 3.79 million miles of highways in the United States. (Forbes, 4) This means that we need to collect over 3.79 million miles of garbage and that’s just including highways. It has been recorded that the cost of collecting litter exceeded about $130 million per year for state highways (Forbes, 4). What if we include the cost of clean up on sidewalks, streets, alleyways, and parking lots? According to NCHRP, it is “estimated that $500 million is spent annually by all levels of government on collection of roadside litter,” (Forbes, 4). These numbers are astonishing and all I know is that I am not willing or happy that we all have to spend our tax dollars on cleaning up other people’s crimes. If money is not important enough to drive change, deaths should be. When we think of animal deaths caused by debris, we generally think of a seagull with a plastic soda holder wrapped around its beak or perhaps hearing about polluted waters killing thousands of fish. However, what we do not think about or care to look into are the
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stories told by the Humane Society or the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. In fact, one article written by Ruthanne Johnson called, “The Deadly Truth about Trash” stated, “For years, I would throw my apple cores and other food out the window of my car, thinking it’s going to compost and go back into the wild, never considering the fact it’s actually drawing animals who might then get hit by a car” (Johnson). After reading that, it made me shutter as I am guilty of throwing food out my car window thinking I was giving a bird, a squirrel, or some other little creature a delightful snack, never thinking that the chase to retrieve it might end its’ life. Another killer, often tossed from Car windows, is gum. In fact, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals reported that, “Animals often step in gum, which can become matted in their fur or feathers, making it difficult for them to move” (Peta.org). There is a saying that what comes around goes around and there could be no more truth to that then the examples of how litter impacts humans. Not only are animals dying, but they are also being intoxicated because they are ingesting toxic chemicals found in certain debris. As plastic and other foreign materials enter our oceans, fish can potentially eat it and it is at times very toxic. This leads me to conclude that fish are carrying these toxins. These intoxicated fish could end up in our human supply chain and we would then be ingesting these harmful chemicals. A fish carrying toxins does not sound appetizing. Our oceans and beaches need to stay clean. Additionally, animals also mistake cigarette butts for for food. When the outer wrapping of a cigarette butt unravels, fish may think they are fish eggs and the ingestion of this filter will go undigested. Cigarette butts can also be mistaken by birds as mothers would try to feed their babies who end up starving to death with their stomachs full of filters or plastic (Johnson).
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Preventing Littering: Littering doesn’t just lie in the streets or get cleaned up by parking lot maintenance. According to a study performed by Queensland Government, Department of Environment and Heritage Department, nearly half of the litter found on their shoreline came from the land. Some trash had simply been left out on the beach to blow away into the ocean. However, they also determined that much of the debris that were originally street litter had been washed down to the seas from storm drains. (www.ehp.qld.gov.au) This leads me to believe that population of fishermen, cargo ships, and recreational boaters must also generate their own share of litter as well. Imagine an ocean liner traveling from China carrying 50 containers that hold everything from clothing to electronics goes overboard or a fisherman whose lunch wrapper or Styrofoam worm container is blown into the water. What about all the other countless materials that sink quickly when dropped by a swimmer or boater? Some of these scenarios are not the intention of the classic litterer but nonetheless are caused by a careless approach to foreign materials colliding with our environment. However, there is good news and the news is that as much as it seems that the Millennial Generation is the main part of the littering problem. They are also inventing new ways to improve behavior and develop innovative receptacles to keep our land, beaches, and oceans clean. For years, I participated in a National Go Green campaign and have helped to clean parks. Personally, I have felt a strong urge to connect with the environment by actively recycling at home or being conscience about the waste we generate as a family. In every community and in many businesses we see evidence that individuals are taking action to increase respect for our environment. Our politicians keep talking about global
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warming and many of us decided to drive fuel efficient or electric cars. Also, with more subtlety, individuals strive to organize beach and park clean ups, but what can we do about these litterbugs? Are there new solutions that will raise awareness and counteract the convenience of throwing cigarettes, plastic wrappers, fast food cups and other garbage to the ground? Found throughout research are some ingenious new ideas to get at this problem and target the younger population. For example, two men by the names of Andrew Turton and Pete Ceglinski invented a garbage bin for the ocean called the Seabin. The Seabin is a bucket whose rim sits on the surface of the water as it vacuums in debris and floating liquids. The way this bin filters out debris from the water is when the objects and water are sucked into the bin, they filter through something called a “natural fiber catch bag,” (Turton) that collects all of the debris, which can then be easily emptied by taking out the bag and replacing it with a clean one. The water then flows through an “oil/water separator,” and the clean, filtered water is released back into the ocean or lake (Turton).
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Works Cited “Beach and Ocean Litter”. Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.
Queensland Government, 2011. n. pag. Web. 5 February 2016. <https://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/coastal/management/beach_and_ocean_litter.html > Forbes, Gerry J. NCHRP Synthesis 394 Reducing Litter on Roadsides a Synthesis of Highway Practice. Washington D.C. Transportation Research Board, 2009. Print. “How Littering Kills Animals.” The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, 2016. n. pag. Web. 21 February 2016. <http://www.peta.org/features/litter-kills-animals/> Johnson, Ruthanne. “The Deadly Truth about Trash.” The Humane Society of the United States. The Humane Society of the United States, 2016. n. pag. Web. 21 February 2016. < http://www.humanesociety.org/news/magazines/2009/0708/the_deadly_truth_about_trash.html> KeepAmericaBeautiful (KAB). Littering Behavior in America Results of a National Study 2009. 1-3. Print. King, Luther. “9 Interesting Facts and Statistics about Littering.” Litter it Costs you. 13
November 2013. n. pag. Web. 4 February 2016. <http://www.litteritcostsyou.org/9-interesting-facts-and-statistics-about-littering/>
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“Littering Facts & Figures” Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful. Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful,
2011-2016. n. pag. Web. 3 February 2016. <http://www.gwinnettcb.org/resources/facts-figures/littering-facts-figures/ > “The Plastic Problem.” 5 Gyres. Turton, A. Ceglinski, P. The Seabin Project. THE SEABIN PROJECT, 2015. n. pag. Web. 16 February 2016. < http://www.seabinproject.com>