7

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dealing with
Individuals, communities, corporations we all contribute to the large amounts of waste that need to be taken care of.

On average each of us throws out these items each year:

glass bottles

290 130
newspapers or magazines

metal cans

66 70kg
of vegetable waste and food scraps

plastic bottles

As discussed in card 4, plastics are often used for packaging because they are resilient, light, clean and cost effective. Therefore, household waste contains plastics as well as other materials. In card 6 we looked at some of the ways in which we can deal with plastics waste. Increasingly, efforts are being made to manage this waste in order to reduce its impact on the environment and maximise the amount of waste given a second life.

Once collected, waste can be reused, recycled or recovered as energy. As a last resort it should be buried in landfill sites for safe disposal. However, when we throw things away irresponsibly they have no chance of entering a sensible waste management and recovery system and instead, they become litter. Litter typically consists of packaging items thrown away without regard to the surroundings. It ends up in public spaces causing serious social, and environmental consequences, as well as being a waste of resources. In an ideal world, litter would not exist because people would behave with care for their environment. One of the most important steps towards solving the litter problem is making sure that everyone knows that it is people who create litter, and not the companies which make the products.

A survey of European cities found that the top five items of litter were cigarette butts and matchsticks, pieces of paper, sweet wrappers and bits of plastics. To find out whether our attitude towards littering is improving or getting worse, litter in the environment is measured.

litter Identifying
Sadly, wherever you are you will find litter in city centres, the countryside, on the coast and at sea. Although its hard to believe, even Mount Everest in the Himalayas has a litter problem!

ACTIVITY 1
As a class, identify at least ten different 50-metre strips of land near your school or where you live. Identify, list and classify all the items of litter. For example bottles, bags, cigarette butts. L Which items are most commonly found? L Which could be dangerous to people or wildlife? Explain why. L Which would be difficult or costly to remove? L Which could be recycled or used again? L Using the Litter Index below, what grade A-D would you give to the area that you surveyed? Based on the Tidy Britain Litter Index, towns and cities can be assessed as a whole. If ten sites were surveyed and each scored A (or 5), then the town would score 50/50 or 100%, but if each site scored only D (or 1) then its cleanliness index would be 10/50 or 20%. Use the grades that the class calculated for the ten sites to calculate an overall cleanliness index for your neighbourhood.

Coastwatch Europe collects data about coastal litter and pollution. A recent survey of some 10,000 sites found over 60 items of packaging litter at each location. These included cans, cartons, bags and bottles as well as cigarette butts, matches and newspapers. Pollutants including sewage, oil and tar were also seen.

Causes and consequences of litter

Nearly all of us can remember an incident when our behaviour created litter. The way we act in different environments determines the type of litter produced and where it is found. For example, litter found on beaches comes from a number of sources. Holiday-makers picnicking on the beach bring a large number of disposable items such newspapers, packaged food and drinks and cigarettes. When these items are taken home after use or put in a bin, no litter is created, but frequently people dont dispose of them responsibly. Sometimes this is because there are not enough bins, but often it is just carelessness.

One way of measuring litter is with a litter index such as the one below. Using a five-point scale, litter found on a 50-metre length of road, footpath, beach or parkland is measured.

Grade A Rating 5/5 Completely free of all items of litter

Although you are probably more aware of the litter in your local area than elsewhere, when you visit other places you cannot escape the litter problem. In fact, litter in holiday spots and at sea attracts the most attention. Is this because we expect to enjoy the seaside or natural scenery where we choose to spend our holidays and forget that our actions create the same impact wherever we are?

Grade A- Rating 4/5 Appears free of litter but on careful inspection has 5 or less small items of litter

Grade B Rating 3/5 Small items of litter present, like bits of paper and milk bottle tops
(source: Tidy Britain Group)

Grade C Rating 2/5 Clearly noticeable build-up of litter: cigarette butts, paper, cans and packets

Grade D Rating 1/5 Lots of clearly visible litter and large items like household goods

But not all coastal litter is created by irresponsible individuals at the location in question. Even uninhabited islands are littered with materials washed ashore by ocean currents that do not recognise national boundaries. This litter can come from other beaches or by the

casual but illegal dumping at sea of items including food packaging and bottles. While some litter will rot over time, much of it remains unless it is collected and removed. Apart from the fact that it is unpleasant to look at and spoils our environment, it can also:

What can be done to m of litter? solve the proble

Everyone is responsible for the problem. If anyone breaks the litter or waste disposal laws then local authorities can take action. This happens all over Europe. Local authorities also encourage individuals to take pride in their area, provide disposal facilities and organise litter collection. Clearly, it is much cheaper to manage waste disposed of responsibly, than to collect it as litter from the streets, countryside and sea.

injure people
For example, rusting cans and broken glass can lie hidden in the sand or in the grass and cause nasty injuries when people tread on them.

kill or injure wildlife

For example, a harmless plastic bag disposed of carelessly could look like an edible jellyfish to a sea turtle, but if eaten it may kill. Damaged fishing nets cut loose by fishermen can be a death trap for dolphins who become entangled and drown.

be a health hazard
Insects, rats and mice frequently congregate around discarded food wrappers and sanitary products, potentially leading to the spread of disease.

cost money to clean up

For example, according to the Local Government Financial Statistics Unit of the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions, street cleaning in England and Wales costs local authorities almost 340 million a year.

ACTIVITY 3
Find out what schemes operate in your country, who is involved and how they work.

ACTIVITY 2
Think about the type of waste found in different places: rural, urban and coastal.

L L L L

Who is responsible for the litter in each environment? Do you think the amount of litter has increased in recent years? Consider each environment in turn, what measures could be taken to reduce litter? Identify what litter might be biodegradable, do you think biodegradability is the answer to protect our environment or would it encourage people to litter more?

Consider the consequences of the types of litter found in each environment.

Throughout Europe, campaigns have been run to raise peoples awareness of litter. In the UK, the Tidy Britain Group, which uses programmes of action and education to fight litter and littering, is the recognised national agency. On a more local scale, schemes range from the annual enlisting of volunteers from schools, sports clubs and local organisations to help clear litter on a particular day, to more formal partnerships. For example, in Devon, the Tamar Estuaries Management Plan brings together local municipal and harbour authorities, water companies and residents. They work together to ensure that adequate facilities for litter disposal are in place, collection services arranged and that the public is kept informed.

do an you What c to help?

Can you say that you have never added to the problem? When did you last drop a sweet or crisp wrapper, a piece of chewing gum or drinks can somewhere other than in a waste bin?

ACTIVITY 4
As a class, discuss the litter problems in your local area. Think about the causes and the consequences. Choose ONE aspect of the litter problem and draw up a plan to tackle it. For example, this could be organising a litter awareness campaign in your school, or getting the local authorities to place more bins in a specific location. Make sure your plan answers these points:

L L

Who would you need to involve? Which organisations/ authorities would be able to help or advise? Which organisations would you need to consult?

L L

How could the plan be carried out? How would you tell people about it and get them to take part? How would you check its progress? How and when would you measure its success or failure?

L L

Now you have learnt a bit more about the consequences of your actions, would you stop and think before contributing to the litter problem?

While it is important that cleaning up litter is organised, it is only part of a solution. We all have a role to play so that one day litter will no longer be a problem.

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