http://www.falkirk.gov.uk/services/corporate_neighbourhood/estates_management/litterzone/litter_st rategy/litter_facts/the_effects_of_litter.

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What is litter? The Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990 is the main piece of legislation dealing with litter. However the Act does not actually provide a legal definition of litter. The Offence of Leaving Litter (section 87 of the Act) says that if a person throws down, drops, deposits and leaves any thing so as to cause the defacement of a public place he or she is guilty of an offence. Therefore the word litter is given a very wide legal interpretation. The broadly accepted description of litter is waste in the wrong place caused by human agency. Rubbish that is discarded in the street, thrown from a car window or left in a public park is clearly in the wrong place. There are many different types of litter, and litter can arise from different sources. Some types of litter can be hazardous, some just unsightly. Others are difficult and costly to clean up. What all litter has in common is that it is caused by people.

Litter facts: the effects of litter

Litter is unsightly and can be smelly and dirty. It costs Falkirk Council somewhere in the region of 3 million a year. And, remember, clean up costs are met through the Council Tax. Litter can be dangerous, unhealthy, and it can persist in the environment for a very long time. Litter can also trap, suffocate, strangle and poison wildlife. If an area is heavily littered, it can lead to the broken window effect more litter, dumping of rubbish, flyposting, graffiti and vandalism. It affects local communities and the people who live there. It can also have a detrimental effect on the local economy and on tourism.

Litter facts: why do people litter?

All sorts of people drop litter, and there are many reasons given as to why this might be. People have all sorts of theories as to what would stop people from littering. And people also have all sorts of excuses for littering Here are some of the reasons we are aware of: They cant be bothered or are too lazy to find a bin They have no sense of pride in their community There is a lack of education / poor parenting of young people If an area is already dirty, why bother to look for a bin? People dont appreciate the consequences of littering (see Effects of litter) We live in throwaway society with a snack culture and too much packaging Its not cool to use a bin Litter keeps someone in a job People arent aware that some items are litter eg food, cigarette ends, chewing gum Its OK to litter if no one can see you! Its OK to litter if you are drunk! There arent enough bins The bins are in the wrong place The bins arent emptied often enough The bins arent big enough The bins are not suitable for disposing of dog mess or cigarette ends The bins are dirty There arent enough fines for littering One person cant make a difference Its rebellious and anti-authoritarian to litter (is it?) Fast food outlets dont care about the litter associated with them Everybody does it! The Council arent doing their job properly There are much worse things in the world to worry about than litter .

How many of these reasons or excuses have you heard?

Litter is everyones problem, and there is never an excuse!

The Litter Strategy

In 2002 Falkirk Council decided that a comprehensive 'Litter Strategy' was required to tackle the problem of litter in a holistic way. This strategy recognises that no matter how well and how quickly we clear up the mess caused by littering, the only sustainable solution is to find ways of preventing littering in the first place. To do this we need the support of a wide range of people; businesses, schools, community organisations and other agencies all have an important role to play.

Our campaign 'Litter: Theres No Excuse' has been running since April 2004 and we use a wide range of media to ensure our message reaches as many people as possible - you may have seen our adverts and posters on Council vehicles, on litter bins, in the cinema or your local library. For more information on the work of the Litter Strategy please use the menu options.

Cleanliness surveys
The legal standards which every Local Authority has to achieve are set out in a Code of Practice. This document sets the cleanliness standards expected and the response times in which these should be achieved. For a more detailed explanation please see our Code of Practice.

To ensure we meet this obligation our partners at Keep Scotland Beautiful have developed a process which enables an objective assessment of cleanliness to be carried out by trained personnel. The process is called the Local Environmental Audit and Management System (LEAMS) LEAMS involves a trained person undertaking a survey of randomly selected areas and, using analytical methods, attaching a score to the survey. Surveys are carried out throughout the Council area on a bi-monthly basis and, because the surveyor has been trained, the same methodology is always used. As we are able to attach a score to a cleanliness survey, we are therefore able to set targets for ourselves, and because we carry out regular surveys we are then able to determine whether we are making progress towards our targets or whether we are moving further away. The survey process is overseen by Keep Scotland Beautiful and a total of 7 surveys are carried out annually, the results of which are then used to compile an annual figure. Four surveys are carried out internally, two surveys are carried out by an external Local Authority and one survey is carried out independently by Keep Scotland Beautiful. The minimum acceptable cleanliness score is 67 and the following table indicates comparative performance since 2004/05

Year

04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 66 72 70 71 72 72

LEAMS 65 Score

The Council places a high importance to this measurement process and has included the cleanliness target among its key performance environmental indicators within the Sustainable Falkirk Strategy. For anyone interested in knowing more about LEAMS and our cleanliness surveys, please contact the Litter Strategy Team or more information is available atkeepscotlandbeautiful.org

Welcome to the Litterzone. The following pages aim to provide you with all the information and advice you may need about the Litter Strategy. We hope it will also encourage you, your school, your business or your community to get actively involved in our campaign against litter. Please explore our pages using the links below or the menu on the left. Litter Strategy This section has information on how Falkirk Council are tackling litter including information about our past and current campaigns, Cleanliness surveys, Litter & the Law, Flytipping, Clean ups and more. Community Working with local communities, we aim to encourage local responsibility and ownership of the litter problem, providing a sustainable, long-term solution. In this section you will find advice, ideas and case studies of local projects. Schools Here you will find out all you have ever wanted to know about litter and more! Use this section to discover games, information and advice about litter and related topics for young people and their teachers. Business The business community has a key role to play in the fight against litter, for a number of reasons. Perhaps most importantly, improving the cleanliness of our business districts can only help to attract new customers and companies, and to make the Falkirk Council area a great place to live, work, shop and visit. Operations This section gives information on the street cleansing operational service provided by Falkirk Councils Estates Management department. Here, you will find information on our cleansing responsibilities and what we do, litter bins, and how we monitor our cleansing performance.

http://www.greenecoservices.com/walking-green-10-harmful-effects-of-litter/

Walking Green: 10 Harmful Effects of Litter

JUNE 14, 2008 BY CATHY 18 COMMENTS

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State of Our Beaches Report from Surfrider The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Trash Talkin It is estimated in that California spends 1 Billion dollars annually on litter clean up 7 Billion tons of debris enter the world oceans annually. Most of it is long lasting plastic. An estimated 100,000 sea mammals and turtles are killed by plastic litter every year. A sperm whale found dead on a North American beach was discovered to have starved to death because a plastic gallon bottle which it had swallowed had plugged its small intestine. The animal was full of plastic material ranging from other plastic bottles to 12m of nylon rope.

10 Harmful Effects of Litter

1.) Litter in the streets and parks can travel through storm drains to bays and oceans, where it harms wildlife 2.) Litter cost money. Removing litter cost everyone who pays taxes. 3.) Threat to Public Health. Attracts rats and other rodents and is a breeding ground for bacteria. 4.) Litter can be a fire hazard. 5.) Looks bad, and can effect the value of your home and business. 6.) Can affect local economy, especially in tourist locations. 7.) Litter breeds other litter. Sends out message that people dont care. 8.) Harm or kill wildlife. 9.) Harms Waterways. Even animal leavings, leaves and grass affect wildlife. 10.) It demoralizing and disgusting. If New Orleans can do it so can we. Check out this article! Or this solution fromNola For more information go to Drink This. Whats up and coming with California Litter Laws: Californians Against Waste;

http://www.ehow.com/info_8634413_effects-littering-environment-animals.html
Litter creates toxins and pollutants that are harmful to our environment and animals. Discarded garbage clogs our waterways, effects our soils, and may remain in landfills forever. Bottles and plastic sacks can create harmful environments for animals. They may ingest the plastic sacks and suffer from serious illness. Small animals crawl into bottles and jars looking for food and may become stuck and slowly starve to death. Recycle whenever possible and properly dispose of your garbage to avoid needless and harmful litter.

Plastic

Discarding plastic products, including grocery sacks, rapidly fills up landfills and often clog drains. When plastic litter drifts out to sea, animals like turtles or dolphins may ingest the plastic. The plastic creates health problems for the animals including depleting their nutrients and blocking their stomachs and intestines. Animals cannot break down plastic in their digestive system and will usually die from the obstruction. Pieces of plastic can also get tangled around animals' bodies or heads and cause injury or death.

Water Pollution

Litter in our water supply from consumer and commercial use creates a toxic environment. The water is ingested by deer, fish and a variety of other animals. The toxins may cause blood clotting, seizures or serious medical issues that can kill animals. The toxic water may also kill off surrounding plant life on riverbanks and the bottom of a pond's ecosystem. When humans eat animals that have ingested compromised water supplies, they also can become sick.

Soil

Runoff from litter, polluted water, gasoline and consumer waste can infiltrate our soil. The soil absorbs the toxins litter creates and affects plants and crops. The agriculture is often compromised and fails to thrive. Animals then eat those crops or worms that live in the soil and may become sick. Humans who eat either the crops or the animals feeding on the infected agriculture can also become ill.

Jars and Bottles

Discarded jars and bottles usually do not biodegrade naturally and add to our mounting litter problem. The litter remains in our landfills and clog our sewers, streets, rivers and fields. Crabs, birds and small animals may crawl into the bottles looking for food and water and become stuck and slowly die from starvation and illness. The World Wide Fund for Nature reported some 1.5 million tons of plastic waste from the water bottling industry alone.

Read more: The Effects of Littering on the Environment & Animals | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8634413_effects-littering-environment-animals.html#ixzz29VvMhufu