litter

The International Tidy Man^[1]

Litter is waste that people unlawfully dispose of out of doors. It can mainly comprises packaging (e.g. cans, bottles, wrappings such as from chips, cigarettes), chewing gum remains, folders etc.). Also it can refer to a large collection of waste or scatterings of rubbish (e.g. broken domestic machinery). Litter can be occasioned by vandalism, carelessness, or inadvertence. Litter is a form of visual pollution. It also has the potential to harm health, safety, and welfare; it adversely affects wildlife and environmental quality.

History

From ancient Greece to the present day Western hemisphere, humans have thrown unwanted refuse onto streets, countrysides and remote places, unpunished.^[2] 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. The only known pre-modern exception, however, was the Arab Empire, especially in Cordoba, al-Andalus, which had facilities for litter collection.^[3]

In the 14th century, the rise of waste in Europe helped contribute to the bubonic plague.^{[citation needed]} Black rats, carrying the fleas which were the vectors for the plague, fed off biodegradable waste discarded by the public.

Its causes

In addition to intentional littering, almost half of litter on U.S. roadways is now a result of accidental or unintentional litter, debris that falls off of improperly secured trash and recycling collection vehicles and pickup trucks.^[4] Heavy traffic and proximity to waste disposal sites are known to correlate with higher litter rates.^[5][6]

According to a study by the Dutch organisation VROM, 80% of the people claim that "everybody something leaves of a piece of paper, tin or something, on the street behind". Young people from 12 to 24 years cause more litter than the average (Dutch or Belgian) person. But older people too cause litter. For example, 18% of people who regularly cause litter were 50 years of age or older. Nevertheless, automobile drivers and recreationalists, smokers and the youth are specific target groups within many campaigns conducted to keep countries free of litter.

Its effects

Litter can harm the environment in a number of different ways. It is a breeding ground for disease-causing insects and rodents. Its "ugliness" damages the appearance of scenic environments. Open containers such as paper cups or beverage cans can hold rainwater, providing breeding locations for mosquitoes which have been known to cause diseases such as West Nile Virus and Malaria. Uncollected litter can attract more, flowing into streams, and storm water drainage systems, local bays and estuaries. Animals may get trapped or poisoned with litter in their habitats. Cigarette buds and filters are a threat to wildlife and have been found in the stomachs of fish, birds and whales, who have mistaken them for food.^[7] Debris falling from vehicles is an increasing cause of automobile accidents.^[8] Cleaning up litter in the U.S. costs hundreds of dollars per ton, about ten times more than the cost of trash disposal, for a cost totaling about $11 billion per year.^[5][9]

It often takes a long time before litter from the environment disappears. It takes around 6 months for paper and cardboard to disintegrate. Some of the other litter disappears in:

• used cigarettes: 1–5 years
• banana peels: 3 years
• Metal cans: 1,5–50 years
• plastic soda bottles: 5–10 years
• Plastic bags: 10–20 years
• gum: 20–25 years
• aluminum cans: 80 years to 1 million years
• polystyrene chip wrapping: 90 years
• sixpack bottle wrapping: 100 years,
• Glass bottles: 1 million years.

Litter by country

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

Some jurisdictions offer small bounties for preventing and cleaning up litter (for example, requiring people to pay a deposit on bottles, which is only returned when the bottles are returned).

Australia

A Parks Victoria litter trap on the Yarra river catches floating rubbish in Melbourne.

Litter in Australia is prevalent in many areas. An anti-litter movement began in 1969 in Victoria with the formation of Keep Australia Beautiful. Its major anti-littering campaigns "Do the right thing" and "Tidy Towns" became well known nationally. Today, the most vocal organisation is Clean Up Australia which holds a national clean up day. There is currently no Government of Australia legislation against litter. Legislation is generally considered the responsibility of either an States and territories of Australia (Environmental Protection Agency) or Local Government Areas. All states and territories now have legislation against littering which may include fines are enforceable by the police or other agents. The first state level anti-litter legislation in Australia was the Environment Protection Act (1970) introduced in Victoria. Some state environmental protection agencies (including Victoria and Queensland) do online litter reports.

International waters

In international waters, great amounts of litter have been found floating around. According to UNEP, 6.4 million tonnes of litter wind up in the oceans per year ^[10] of which a large part are drawn into international waters because of sea currents. An example of this is the Plastic Vortex. Litter from all over the world flows into this 1 central area because of the sea currents.^[11]

In the Pacific ocean and near the shores of pacific islands, 2 piles of waste drive around which contain both around 100 million kilos of litter. ^[12] Most of the litter is situated in the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone and is referred to as the "Plastic Vortex". The litter consists primarily of plastic, according to scientists, from lego blocks and footballs to broken kayaks. Scientists are already fully aware of the existence of the floating litter, which was discovered accidentally in 1997, but since then has increased heavily in size. Because the litter is located in international waters, no one feels himself called to clean the waste. A research team called "Project Kaisei" is nevertheless organised to research the composition and size of the garbage patch. Upon the results, the team will undertake projects to clean up the patch by converting it to diesel oil. ^[13]

The Netherlands

litter, Mient, Den Haag, December 2003

In the Netherlands, the County Board municipalities as well as a special division called Rijkswaterstaat play a role in cleaning up litter. The Dutch police and local supervisors (called buitengewoon opsporingsambtenaar, or BOA's) fine citizens for trowing away cans, bottles or wrappers onto the street. The fine is 90 euro, unless the defendant is between 12 and 16 years old (the penalty is then half the amount or 45 euro).^[14]

In 2003, Rijkswaterstaat spended around 8 million euros to clean up litter along the main roads. The division of Rijkswaterstaat-IJsselmeergebied alone took about 900,000 kilogram per year of litter from the 125 kilometers of roads they manage.

To reduce the amounts of litter, the Dutch government agreed a covenant with the business organisations. The agreements in the covenant part fall within the spirit of the producer responsibility. This means that producers and products on the market are (partly) responsible for these products in the waste stage. The agreement contains agreements between government and industry about reducing the amount of packaging waste and litter. At the end of 2002 the department on the Environment, on behalf of the government, signed a treaty with business organisations and the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG).

The objectives of the Covenant on litter are:

• The business will ensure that by the year 2005 the amount of cans and bottles in the litter has decreased by at least 80% (from 50 million in 2001).
• The industry is obliged to demonstrate their efforts so that the amount of cans and bottles in the litter for 1 January 2005 decreased by at least 2/3 (from 50 million in 2001).
• The government, the VNG and the business shall ensure that trough a joint effort, by the year 2005, the remaining litter is reduced by at least 45% compared to the year 2002.

New Zealand

Litter in New Zealand is prevalent in many areas, such as streets, waterways, drainage ditches, forests, and beaches. The Litter Act was adopted in 1979; it established the Keep New Zealand Beautiful organisation.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom 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 £100 or under.^[15]

United States

Materials dumped downhill from an unpaved road on state game lands in Gordon, Pennsylvania.

Litter in the United States is an environmental issue, and littering is often an offense punishable with a fine as set out by statutes in many places. Litter laws, enforcement efforts, and court prosecutions are used to help curtail littering.

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-from trash-hauling vehicles, unsecured loads, or construction sites.^[16]

See also

• Littering behavior
• Space debris

References