Littering; A Real Problem in Lorain

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Back By Popular Neglect


Some Interesting Facts About Litterers
Why people litter:
* People are too lazy to dispose of trash properly
* People are more likely to throw litter on top of litter than drop litter in neat surroundings
* Don't Care
* Others will pick it up
* Not aware they are littering

Smokers and littering:
(Environmental Protection Authority of New South Wales(EPA) Research 2000)

* Many smokers do not believe that littering their cigarette butts has an environmental impact or is inappropriate behavior.
* Many smokers blame their littering behavior on a lack of well-placed bins for cigarette butts.
* Over 80% of smokers said they would bin their butts if suitable bins were available (three key areas for more bins were alongside every ordinary litterbin, at entrances to large city buildings and at bus stops).
* Over half of smokers said they would change their behavior if they were more aware of the issues and their potential environmental impact.

Littered cigarette filters contain toxic chemicals that leak into the air and water.

Help a smoker who litters by sending him or her an anonymous email and free personal disposable ashtray from www.cigarettelitter.org

A poll conducted in 1998 of male and female Texans > 16 years old revealed the following predictors of littering in order of importance:
* Age: 16-24 (now people age 16-24 are the target in Texas and nationwide)
* Smokes
* Eats fast food at least 2 nights/week.
* Goes out for nighttime entertainment at least 1/week.
* Drives >50 miles/day.
* Never been married

Neither gender nor ethnicity were factors increasing likelihood of littering.

Five types of people with respect to litter:
* Non-litterers - environmentally conscious, don't litter and usually pick up litter of others
* Inconvenients - too hard, too much trouble, someone else's problem
* Ignorants - these people are simply unaware of a link between the environment and their litter behavior
* Willful Arrogants - usually litter in a context, i.e. "It's okay to litter in urban areas but not in the country"
* Anti-establishments - make a statement with purposeful littering

Caring enough to not litter seems to be driven by:

* Knowledge and awareness
* How much they care about the environment
* Positive self-image
* Attitudes to life (i.e. happy and content)
* Sense of community and an empathy with the needs of others
* Ease of disposal
* Context they are in (16-24 year olds tend to litter more while in groups, but those older litter less in groups and more when alone)
* Type of litter
* If they can get away with it (either in terms of being observed or fined)

Conclusions
* People who feel the highest personal obligation to not litter are also people who feel a strong sense of identity with their communities, frequent recreational areas, have self-esteem and place special value on a sense of accomplishment, warm relationships, and a sense of belonging.
* People who don't litter are not necessarily going to pick up other people's litter. While a good education seems to have a positive effect on individual littering and recycling habits, those with the highest levels of education are not as likely to pick up other people's litter.
* Younger people litter more, particularly when in groups.
* Littering tends to be less in areas where community recycling is available. The correlation between littering and recycling may be attributed to public education associated with recycling which in turn has increased awareness of litter and a need to properly dispose of it.
* The presence or absence of trash receptacles is not a major factor in littering.
* Education is seen as an essential component of any litter prevention partnership. Education is needed to motivate the participants, including people in the judicial system, law enforcement, county and municipal departments, private industry and the public.

Source: http://mdc.mo.gov/nomoretrash/facts/

• The several trillion toxic cigarette butts littered worldwide annually are responsible for fatal fires and the deaths of numerous mammals, birds and reptiles who eat them.

• Litter reduces property value, because it sends a message that people don’t take pride in their community.

• In Ohio it costs $90 million annually to throw away 2.6 million tons of cans, bottles and newspapers that are collected and moved to Ohio landfills. Those items would have an estimated market value of $300 million if they were recycled.

• According to the UN Environment Program, plastic debris causes the deaths of more than a million seabirds every year, as well as more than 100,000 marine mammals. Syringes, cigarette lighters and toothbrushes have been found inside the stomachs of dead seabirds, which mistake them for food.

• Finally, littering is symptomatic of apathy, the root of virtually all problems. So, by stigmatizing littering, you don’t merely mitigate the aforementioned problems.


I watch in horror as people throw litter out of their car windows as if our community is their personal garbage dump. Daily I walk my property and pick up cups, and food wrappers from Burger King and McDonalds, and beer bottles. I just don't get it. How our community looks is how we look. If our city looks like a litter pile our image is that of a litter pile. People will look me right in the eye and throw trash on my street as if it isn't a crime. What happened to taking pride in our neighborhood?

We are the keepers of our community. If we want a better quality of life we have to be ready for the next opportunity that may arise. If we want businesses to locate here or investors to want to be here to bring jobs and prosperity we have to take pride in our community. If all they see is slums and garbage piled up in our streets why would they invest in us when we don't even invest in ourselves.

"Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity." -
-- Oprah Winfrey