Litter: What Is It, Where Does It Come From, and Why Is It a Problem?

Litter can roughly be defined as any type of waste material that has been discarded improperly, either intentionally or unintentionally, in a public space. If it’s in a trash can, it’s trash. If it never makes it to the can and isn’t recycled, it’s litter.

There are an estimated 52 pieces of litter for every person in our country according to the Keep America Beautiful National Litter Study.

It is one of the few problems in our society that is completely solvable. Littering is largely a choice by individuals that impacts all of us. It looks terrible, takes time and resources to clean up, and harms our environment.

 Litter can include items such as plastic bags, food packaging, cigarette butts, aluminum or steel cans, glass or plastic bottles, and other forms of trash.

 To illustrate the problems on the local level, consider that 81% of Ohioans know littering is illegal; 42% of Ohioans have littered in the past month.

What Is Litter?

Common types of litter include:

●        Cigarette butts: These are the most commonly littered item worldwide. An estimated 9.7 billion cigarette butts have been discarded along roadways and waterways

●        Plastic bags

●        Food packaging: Fast food wrappers, beverage containers, and snack packaging

●        Beverage containers: These include plastic bottles, aluminum cans, and glass bottles. Since World War Two, manufacturers have found it more profitable to produce single-use products compared to items such as glass bottles that were previously used again and again.

●        Paper products: This includes newspaper, magazines, and flyers

●        Chewing gum: Gum can often be found on sidewalks and streets

●        Personal hygiene products: These include items such as diapers, tissues, and sanitary products

●        Construction materials: Debris from construction sites, such as wood, nails, and metal

●        Automotive waste: This includes discarded tires, motor oil bottles, and other car parts

●        COVID-19: Gloves and masks were being tossed into the streets, raising concerns that this could be an infection hazard

●        Miscellaneous items: Litter can also include items such as toys, furniture, and other household items that are improperly disposed of

Research shows that littering along roadways is generated by the following individual actions: motorists (52%); pedestrians (22.8%); improperly covered truck or cargo loads, including collection vehicles (16.4%); and unsecured containers, dumpsters, trash cans or residential waste or recycling bins (1.5%).

ODOT statewide spends approximately $4 million each year picking up about 400,000 bags of trash. That’s time and money that could be spent on pavement and drainage-system repairs that provide long-term improvements to highways.

Litter can also lead to increased costs for municipalities and communities, as it requires additional resources to clean up and dispose of.

How Long Will Litter Last If It’s Not Recycled or Burned?

●        Paper: 3-5 months

●        Cigarette butt: 1-12 years

●        Plastic bag: 10-20 years

●        Aluminum can: 80-100 years

●        Plastic bottle: 450 years

●        Glass bottle: 1 million years

Image Source: Rawpixel

Why Do People Litter?

Here’s what Keep America Beautiful’s 2009 research found: 

Personal choice. 17% of all disposals observed in public spaces were littering, while 83% disposed of litter properly. And 81% of littering was intentional. On the other hand, individuals who hold the belief that littering is wrong, and consequently feel a personal obligation not to litter, are less likely to do so.

Litter begets litter. Individuals are much more likely to litter in a littered environment. And once there, it attracts more litter. By contrast, a clean community discourages littering. Availability and proximity to trash and recycling receptacles also affect whether someone chooses to litter.

It’s not my responsibility. Some people feel no sense of ownership of highways, parks, walkways, beaches, and other public spaces. They feel it’s not their job to put trash where it belongs.

No place to put trash. One of the reasons that people litter is due to a lack of public garbage bins, or overflowing bins that do not get emptied regularly.

Littering is more common among young people and people with a weaker attachment to their communities.

What Harm Can Litter Cause?

Litter is much more than an eyesore. It can cause several problems: 

●        Misplaced trash can be a safety issue, making roadways more dangerous to navigate

●        Plastic bags especially can clog stormwater and wastewater systems, During heavy rains, these can quickly turn into flooded roadways

●        Litter can increase fire risks

●        Wildlife can be trapped or injured by litter. Illegally dumped garbage can kill or stunt plant growth. Many small animals crawl into bottles or jars and get stuck and starve to death. Birds, small animals, and water creatures eat or get tangled in plastic bags or plastic 6-ring holders.

●        Litter can contribute to soil and water pollution, which creates an unhealthy environment for both wildlife and humans

●        Areas with large amounts of litter may face lower property values, fewer visits from tourists and shoppers, and greater difficulty recruiting businesses

Image Source: FreePik

What’s Being Done About Litter in Central Ohio?

In 2022, Columbus’s Keep Columbus Beautiful program supported 10,104 volunteer cleanups that resulted in getting 292,582 pounds of litter off our streets. Volunteers contributed 39,366 hours.

The city of Columbus has also invested in Solid Waste Investigators that combat illegal dumping and hold those who trash our public spaces accountable. In 2022, investigators helped prosecute 29 people, had over 40 civil violations filed, and continue to pursue leads.

Mayor Andrew J. Ginther increased funds to fight litter and illegal dumping. This funding helped build two new Waste and Reuse Convenience Centers that create a new place to drop off waste materials and hire more staff to help collect even more litter.

This service supports Ohio’s Climate Action Plan goal to clean up Columbus neighborhoods and create a healthy environment for Ohio residents.

We can make a difference and keep Columbus beautiful by educating our friends, neighbors, and family members on the importance of properly disposing of our waste, and by signing up to join a cleanup in our neighborhoods.

Throwing something in the trash and having it go to a landfill is always better than littering. It’s also important to think twice when you’re throwing something recyclable into the trash, where it’ll stay for decades, centuries, or even millennia if it winds up in a landfill.

What Role Is Fire & Ice Playing?

In 2023, Fire & Ice Heating and Air Conditioning is partnering with ODOT as part of the Sponsor a Highway Program.

Sponsor-A-Highway allows groups and organizations to help clean up one-mile sections of highway in the Central Ohio community.

Two hundred road signs will mark areas on highways where Fire & Ice will sponsor workers who will collect litter once per quarter. That equates to 2400 miles of litter-free highway per year.

The company will do this in addition to recycling old HVAC systems (copper, aluminum, steel), planting trees for the Arbor Day Foundation, and recovering used refrigerant responsibly, thus helping protect the ozone layer.

They will do this because they believe, as ODOT does, that “a little litter is a big problem.”