litter

The International Tidy Man

For other meanings of litter, see Litter (disambiguation).

Litter is a waste type consisting of any tangible personal property which has been unlawfully scattered and or abandoned in a public place (usually outdoors). Tangible property abandoned in a private space is not considered litter. Litter is often caused by careless or accidental treatment of debris and waste as opposed to proper disposal. The American Public Works Association standardized the term litter in the mid-20th Century, to be later known as a form of solid waste—“…material which, if thrown or deposited, tends to create a danger to public health, safety and welfare.” Litter is categorized into three specific components: hazardous, reusable-recyclable and non-hazardous, non-usable. The most troubling litter is non-recyclable polystyrene foam and plastic. The “item most littered… worldwide” is the cigarette butt, at 4.5 billion pieces, yet the “largest volume component of litter,” accounting for 40 to 60 percent of total volume since the 1980s, is beverage container litter. Common, severe litter includes candy and gum wrappers, paper towels, food wastes, chip bags, aluminum and steel beer/soda cans, leather, rubber, clothing, textiles, wood, glass and metal projectiles, blown tires and treads, springs, vehicular and brake parts, drive shafts and bumpers. According to the Federal Highway Administration, litter tends to be found “…near intersections or crossroads, where a stop or reduced speed is required, and near beer and package stores, farmers markets, shopping centers, beaches, fast food places and solid waste dumps.”

While grade-school definitions of litter often start and end with lunchroom refuse or similar, most official definitions of litter are far broader than the general public are taught. Most states and countries specifically define "election litter" or an equivalent as the unlawful placement of political propaganda on public property. In Europe the pasting of advertising paraphernalia on public buildings is called fly-posting and is a form of "scattering" unlawful materials on public property. The Supreme court of the United States has complicated the enforcement of litter laws where litter is used as a form of propaganda.

According to Georgia's Litter. It Costs You campaign, the most commonly found items in roadside litter clean-ups are cigarette butts, snack/take out packaging, plastic, and paper. In a statewide roadside litter survey, two thirds of the litter found along roadways was the result of negligent litter; litter from trash-hauling vehicles, unsecured loads, or construction sites.^[1]

Who's to blame for litter?

Litter in the habitat of a lizard.

Some commonly-blamed groups are customers of fast food outlets, smokers and young adults.^{[citation needed]} Studies^{[attribution needed]} show that areas which are allowed to remain dirty are prone to becoming dirtier, i.e. litter gives "permission" to litter. There are also natural causes such as high winds disturbing litter containers. Litter can be a result of lack of education.^{[citation needed]}

Francis McAndrew's Environmental Psychology, a textbook used by scholars to explain littering by humans, reports that women, youth, rural dwellers and live-alone persons litter more than men, seniors, urban dwellers and multi-person households.^[2] Picnickers, hunters, fishermen, campers, motorboaters, water skiers, careless pedestrians, motorists, truck drivers, construction and loading dock workers, are prime litter providers. Prototype research by the state of Texas "profiled" litterers being males, youth under age 25, non-whites, smokers, and frequenters to bars, parties and fast food restaurants. These research results are replicated by many state governments to tailor and enforce litter eradication programs.

Many factors contribute to why people choose to litter, according to McAndrew. He argues the “presence of other litter” is a powerful instigator. Studies confirm that litter begets litter. A “disconnect from reality”-—apathy-—is a second dynamic. Research by Keep America Beautiful in 1999 found 75 percent of Americans admitted to littering in the last five years, yet 99 percent of the same surveyed individuals admitted they enjoyed a clean environment. Negligent, lax law enforcement contributes significantly to this disconnect. Generally, violations must be witnessed to be legally pursued. Inconvenience is another influence. Entitlement is a fourth dynamic to why people litter. A fifth factor is class alienation leading to poor education of individuals. “Dumping is a social activity we learn from...parents and pass on unconsciously to...children.” Litterers are “raised badly” by parents--“…vandals with little sense [of the] damage they do.” The temptation to litter can be motivated “by greed” and ignorance about the law and its actual enforcement, according to a Federal document by The United States Department of Justice, mentioning the criminal intent of suspects arrested for illegal waste disposal, reassured by lax law enforcement. Finally, governmental neglect influences littering. “Government… [has followed] the path of least resistance…[in addressing] externalities…that may pose…health threat[s]…to nearby communities.” Culturally biased indifference by public servants causes some communities to have persistent dumping problems.^[3]

Effects on the environment

An illegally dumped refrigerator floating in an irrigation canal.

Litter can have many effects on the environment. It is extremely unsightly and uncollected litter can attract more. Animals may get trapped or poisoned with litter in their habitats.^[4] Litter can end up in rivers and canals, polluting the water supply. Vermin and disease are rife in places with high amounts of litter. Open containers such as paper cups or beverage cans can hold rainwater, providing breeding locations for mosquitoes which have been known to cause disease like the West Nile Virus. It is also a road hazard and can occasionally contribute to accidents.

Litter, a breeding ground for disease causing insects and rodents, features most prominently for its “ugliness” that damages scenic environments. Trash collects into streams, and storm water drainage systems, flowing into local bays and estuaries. Cigarette butts and filters, a threat to wildlife, have been found in the stomachs of fish, birds and whales, “mistaking them for food”^[3]

Litter scattered across the ground

Costs of litter

Companies employ litter pickers to keep litter off their premises. Clean Streets is a pioneer organization based out of Worcester County in Massachusetts. They are a nonprofit oriented organization that operate primarily in Fitchburg and in Leominster MA, however have been called in as a group of volunteers throughout Massachusetts. Clean Streets coordinates community clean-ups and volunteers. Clean Streets are also consultants for those looking to implement similar programs in their own communities. There are numerous places to find volunteers. Social organizations, such as church groups, campaign committees, Boy Scouts, and colleges are a few examples of where to look for volunteers. City councils also have to spend taxpayer money on litter removal. Money from fines usually goes to fund litter removal. Roadsweeper and beach cleaner machines to clean litter are expensive, noisy, and cause more pollution. Litter may also reduce property value by up to 15 percent.^[5]

Highway maintenance personnel, livestock and wildlife have been injured by litter, and roadway and boating debris cause hundreds of serious injuries and deaths annually. Millions of dollars have been spent annually to combat the problem, yet “relatively little” has been accomplished to control littering in these United States. As of 2004, many states still do not have readily available, published information on statewide litter eradication costs and volumes collected. ^[3]

History

Litter in the habitat of a human.

Prior to reforms within cities in the mid to late 1800s, sanitation was not a priority on governments’ lists of things to do. Waste was disposed of by the roadside or in small local dumps. It was unsanitary for local inhabitants and the growing piles of waste led to the spread of disease.

Most notably, the rise of waste helped contribute to the bubonic plague in the mid 1300s. Black rats carried the fleas which were the vectors for the plague fed off biodegradable waste that was discarded by the public.

From ancient Greece to the present day Western Hemisphere, humans have thrown unwanted refuse onto streets, countrysides and remote places, unpunished.^[3]

Farms and gardens have long recognized the benefits of composting food waste and biodegradable waste.

During the times of colonial exploration and expansion starting in the 1600s, littering was not uncommon on seafaring vessels. Boats were small, packed with goods, cramped with people, and dirty. After meals people would discard leftovers or broken plates or cups by throwing them overboard into the sea. Certain goods that were found to be tainted or broken were also thrown overboard. During George Washington's famous crossing of the Delaware River to defeat the Hessians, littering had occurred. Washington's men had carried small supplies of food onboard with them, but prior to battle, the food was tossed away. In present day, litter is all around us. City streets and sidewalks are covered with candy bar wrappers, soda bottles, tissues and papers. Waste is often thrown out of windows of automobiles or out of hands of people. This is done intentionally for the discarding of unwanted goods. It can be considered both unsightly and rude.

Legal consequences

California posts the maximum fine on its ubiquitous signs

Litter can be expensive to clean up, so the act of littering has been made a fineable offense by statute in many places.

In the United States, litter laws, enforcement efforts, and court prosecutions are used to help curtail littering. All three are part of a “comprehensive response to environmental violators,“ write Epstein and Hammett, researchers for the United States Department of Justice. State laws appear to take precedence over municipal ordinances in controlling litter and act as public safety, not aesthetic measures. Similar state to state, laws define whom the laws apply to, the type or “function” of the person committing the action, and what items must be littered or dumped to constitute an illegality. Municipal ordinances and state statutes by-and-large require “human action” in committing an act of illegal littering or dumping for one to be “held in violation.” Some believe anti-litter statutes are “simply not enforced, or with the lowest priority.” There is “...a perception [by law enforcement personnel] that environmental crimes are not real crimes." Most states require law enforcement officers to “...witness the illegal act to write a citation.” Since the 1970s court prosecutions became important in fighting illegal littering and dumping. A national survey of prosecutors noted the most important factor to prosecute an offense was the “degree of harm” it posed and the “criminal intent” of the offender. America's most prosecuted littering offense involve illegal disposals of hazardous waste. Civil and criminal fines are the “most common strategy governments use to control environmental behaviors.” Most criminal offenders choose to settle out of court. For small littering, a monetary penalty and/or a specified number of hours picking up litter or community service is typical chastisement. Going to jail for a littering/dumping conviction is still a rarity.^[3]

For example, in the U.S. state of California, the punishment for first-time littering starts at a 100 (USD) fine and eight hours of picking up roadside litter. A defendant's third offense and all subsequent offenses are punished with a minimum penalty of a $750 fine and 24 hours of litter cleanup (per offense).^[6] Such penalties are often prominently posted on roadside signs.

In Georgia, the Comprehensive Litter Prevention and Abatement Act was signed into law in 2006. Litterers can be fined up to $1,000 and be ordered to clean a littered area in the community.^[7]

In the UK there is a maximum fine of £2,500 for persistent littering. Different local authorities also have the powers to impose on the spot fines to those caught littering. These are generally under £100.^[8]

Some jurisdictions offer small bounties for the cleaning of litter (for example, requiring people to pay a deposit on bottles, which is only returned when the bottles are returned). In some countries such as Australia certain areas have a similar scheme but the person bringing the bottle back in gains a small reward.

References

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