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Litter is anything that’s improperly disposed of due to laziness and lack of environmental concern. People litter because it’s more convenient for them to throw their trash on the sidewalk or outside their cars. They are also more likely to do so when there are no trash bins available nearby or when people can’t see them littering. Moreover, people also resort to littering when other people litter as well or when the place is already cluttered with rubbish. Clearly, these people are not aware of the implications of throwing their waste improperly.
The following are 10 littering facts that hopefully blow your mind so that you don’t litter ever again.
Most of the litter collected comes from food packaging
The majority of the litter volume collected during beach cleanup comes from fast food takeout containers and food waste. This includes plastic and foam takeout containers, single-use disposable cups, utensils, and aluminium drink cans.
Almost all litter end up in the ocean
Even if you throw your waste on the sidewalk, outside your vehicle, or on the streets, they would still end up in our oceans and other water bodies. Litter can get blown by the wind and enter our waterways, ultimately leading to the ocean.
An estimated 8.8 million tons of rubbish enter our oceans every year. More shocking is the fact that there are approximately 5.25 trillion pieces of plastics in the ocean right now.
Littering is a crime.
Fines vary depending on the city or country regulations. In Australia, littering in an environmental crime that could send you to jail or cost you a significant amount of money. Fines for littering start from $200 to $5,000.
Cleanup activities cost us a lot of money.
We pay for litter cleanup activities. The government uses a huge amount of taxpayer’s money to fund littering solutions. NSW alone spends about $15 million every year to clean up litter. We could’ve spent that huge sum of money on other productive things.
Cigarette butts are small but cause a terrible problem.
Cigarette butts are the most littered item. They are small pieces, yet they make about half of the total amount of littered items collected. Cigarette filters are not biodegradable, and they can take as long 10 years to decompose.
Littering significantly affects the economy
Littering makes a place unclean. As a result, littered areas and communities have lower real estate values. They are also associated with high crime rates and fire hazards, so there are fewer buyers interested to purchase the land. More than that, litter also impacts tourism since rubbish corrupts the beauty of local tourist destinations.
Animals die and get injured because of litter.
Approximately one million birds and 100 thousand marine animals die each year because of litter. Marine reptiles, mammals, fishes, and seabirds alike die of entanglement and ingestion of plastic rubbish. They also get injured from broken glass pieces and fishing hooks. Litter also causes pollution that alters the living conditions in these animals’ habitats.
Busy people are more likely to litter.
People who are on the move are the common culprits of littering. Motorists and pedestrians resort to littering because they are too lazy to stop and search for a trash bin.
Litter causes road accidents.
A piece of plastic grocery bag getting blown by the wind could be mistaken by drivers as another car approaching them. Motorists could swerve to avoid a wooden crate on the road. A sheet of paper sticking on the windshield could block the driver’s view. These instances may be rare but they happen. Litter causes car accidents leading to severe injuries and deaths.
Litter is a wasted resource.
We could’ve recycled a great deal of the world’s litter if only we discarded them properly. Plastic bottles, aluminium cans, paper and cardboard products, and scrap metals are common litter items that we could recycle and get money from. However, if we litter them, they get degraded and there’s no way we could recover them anymore.
Conclusion
Proper waste disposal is one way you could help keep this planet clean and sustainable. That means you have to avoid improper waste practices such as littering. When you litter, you are eliminating the opportunity of recyclable materials to be reused and recycled. You are also harming the animals, plants, and other people when you dispose of your waste improperly.
It is important that you throw your rubbish properly. If there’s no rubbish bins nearby, collect your trash first until you find one. You should do the same at your home. If you don’t have a dumpster or anywhere to throw your rubbish, store them first and then contact us for hauling.
Aussie Junk is your trusted rubbish removal company in Sydney. Kurt is your reliable partner in keeping our world a cleaner place. We employ sustainable practices to deal with your rubbish from collection, sorting, hauling, all the way to disposal and recycling.
For all your rubbish removal needs, call us at 0435 569 921 or send us an enquiry.
