Five Reasons Why Littering Is Bad

Appearances

• One of the obvious effects of littering is the negative impact it has on the appearance of an area. A litter-strewn location looks dirty and unsightly, making it a less pleasant environment for those that live in or use it. Litter that accumulates may also smell, further reducing the attractiveness of a location. When littering becomes commonplace in an area, it sends the message that the practice is acceptable, resulting in people continuing to discard litter carelessly.

Human Health and Safety

• Littering can have a direct impact on human health. Food, packaging, and other materials left to rot provide a fertile breeding ground in which bacteria thrives, resulting in a health hazard for those that come into contact with it. Litter can also create safety problems, with items such as broken glass bottles and metal cans having the potential to cause injury to anyone that steps or falls on it.

Impact on Wildlife

• Litter can have a negative impact on both land- and water-dwelling wildlife. Problems include animals ingesting inedible materials such as plastic packaging and cigarette butts. Eaten in sufficient quantities, these materials may prove fatal by poisoning the animal or causing it to starve by blocking its intestinal tract. Another wildlife hazard involves entanglement, where an animal gets trapped in debris such as six-pack rings and plastic packaging. This affects movement, feeding and breathing with fatal consequences if the animal cannot free itself.

Fire Hazard

• Litter poses a fire hazard, and this is especially so with regard to cigarette and cigar butts. Discarding a butt without fully extinguishing it has the potential to start a fire, and this can have a severe effect in outdoor locations such as forests and woodlands as well as enclosed locations like sports stadiums. In enclosed locations, litter accumulating below seats and standing areas may exacerbate the problem by enabling a fire to catch and spread more rapidly.

Cost

• A 2009 litter cost survey organized by Keep America Beautiful (kab.org) indicated that the annual cost of cleaning up litter in the United States was around $11.5 billion. This affects organizations such as businesses, city councils, local communities, and educational facilities, making the money used for litter clean up not available for more positive use.