How can litter affect the environment

Several studies have proven a correlation between the presence of litter in a given area and the intentional littering of that particular spot. This, along with the absence of appropriate local waste services, might be one of the main reasons behind illegal dumping in Georgian villages.

Litter adversely affects the environment. Littering along the road, on the streets or by the litter bins, toxic materials or chemicals in litter can be blown or washed into rivers, forests, lakes and oceans, and, eventually can pollute waterways, soil or aquatic environments.

A polluted environment can encourage the spread of diseases. Toxic chemicals and disease-causing microorganisms in the trash may also contaminate water systems and spread water-borne diseases which can negatively affect the health of both animals and humans if unclean or untreated water is consumed.

Cigarette butts take a grand total of ten years to decompose because of cellulose acetate, contrary to the common perception that cigarette butts decompose very quickly in only a matter of days. Plastic litter is another threat to the environment and its inhabitants. It has often been mistaken for food by both land and marine wildlife. When consumed by animals, they reduce the stomach capacity since they cannot be digested. Much of marine wildlife including birds, whales, dolphins and turtles have been found dead with plastic and cigarettes found in their stomachs.

Another negative aspect of littering is that it is too expensive for a country, society and individuals. Cleaning up litter requires a huge amount of money that is financed by taxpayers that could be used in more productive ways. Littered places are visually displeasing and they depreciate the aesthetic and real value of the surrounding environments.

Places with large amounts of litter are often characterized with homes and property that are less valuable as a result. Similarly, it affects tourism as it makes city areas and roadsides look disgusting and tourists tend to avoid staying and even visiting areas that are littered.

Furthermore, littering can lead to car accidents. Some trash in the road is enough to create a dangerous situation that could result in serious injuries or death. The ideal way to handle the problem of littering is for each member of society to take responsibility and try their best to properly dispose waste.

If citizens are required not to litter, appropriate conditions must be provided by local governments. Measures must be taken by appropriate local authorities to ensure more garbage bins are installed in various areas for effective garbage disposal. But governments and local councils can also do more to help out these communities. Increasing litter pickups in these areas can help these people out and act as a morale builder.

But as discussed here but this must not obscure vision of the true causes of the issues. We can educate and nudge people to not litter but what would help much more is if big corporations took more responsibility and stopped producing single-use non-degradable waste in the first place.

Innovation will help as the cost and options in biodegradable packaging comes down and we have better ways to utilize waste in a circular economy model.

But that still relies on us disposing of waste correctly and littering does not do this. There is no use in us inventing a t-shirt made from recycled plastic bottles when those plastic bottles are at the bottom of a river or ocean. So for now, if you are reading this. Lavers, Ian Hutton, Alexander L. Microplastics as an emerging threat to terrestrial ecosystems. Global Change Biology, ;. Chapman, J. Geller, J. Miller, D. Carlton, M.

McCuller, N. Treneman, B. Steves, and G. Tsunami-driven rafting: Transoceanic species dispersal and implications for marine biogeography. Science — Roder, Anke Putschew, and Thomas Nehls. Wesley, et al. Schultz, and Marino Bonaiuto. A focus theory of normative conduct: Recycling the concept of norms to reduce littering in public places. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58 6 , — Thompson, and Sabine Pahl. When cheating would make you a cheater: Implicating the self prevents unethical behavior.

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 4 , — Rob is the head writer at Innovate Eco sharing knowledge and passion cultivated over 10 years working in the Environmental Sector. He is on a mission to build a community of people that are passionate about solving environmental problems. The travel industry is one of the worst offenders to environmental pollution and projections show that it is likely to continue growing.

Planes and cruise ships are popular holiday modes of Electric scooters are becoming more and more popular among adults and all over the world, not only for enjoyment but for personal use for specific situations. Due to an explosion in the electric Skip to content Littering has become a global epidemic, as we live in a society that values items less and less and are sold an increasing number of products designed to be used once and then discarded.

What is the definition of littering? What are the most littered items? Main Impacts on the Environment 1 Physical harm to wildlife from plastic waste in rivers and oceans Over the past few years, more people are becoming aware of the detrimental impacts of plastic pollution in our watercourses and oceans.

How does plastic litter end up in rivers and oceans? How does plastic litter affect the environment? How does plastic litter affect wildlife? The unaltered stomach contents of a dead albatross chick photographed on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the Pacific in September include plastic marine debris fed the chick by its parents.

Chris Jordan Flikr CC2. But why do people litter? Education But at the same time as making it easy we must continue to educate people, particularly younger generations. These include inconvenience and laziness, absence of ownership or pride for the area, feeling that someone else will pick it up, number, placement and appearance of litter bins at or near the site, absence of realistic penalties, legislation enforcement, lack of social pressure and lack of knowledge of the environmental impacts of littering.

Almost all of us litter in one way or the other. Littering is something we learn from others and unconsciously pass on to our children. Large numbers of camels in the Middle East die every year due to plastic ingestion. Significant amount of money is spent to collect and clean up the litter that many people have thoughtlessly tossed out on the streets and other public spaces. The litter collection is a time-consuming and costly exercise with walking marshals collecting the litter from far off places to keep the country tidy.

Litter is a problem that can be controlled. Education is an important tool. People who are aware of the dangers of litter often make more of an effort to always put their trash in bins.

They also spread the word to others they see littering and teach them to dispose of garbage the right way. Community clean-ups encourage people to take pride in their neighbourhood and maintaining a healthy look. Quick removal of litter keeps it from growing into an unmanageable dumpsite. Litter can be conquered. People can make a difference.

Clean communities have a better chance of attracting new business, residents and tourists. There is no reason for any of us to litter because we can always find a litter bin to throw the trash away. Let us set an example for others, especially children, by not littering and by carrying a litter bag in our vehicle, securely covering trash containers to prevent wind or animals from spreading litter. When visiting parks and recreation areas, make sure to leave the area clean for the next person to enjoy and restrict the distribution and disposal of handbills.