Page 9 - Litter Toolkit

2.1

What is litter?

Litter is waste in the wrong place. It can be found
in our school grounds, in hedges, on pavements, Up to 10-20 YEARS Up to 1 MILLION
beaches and in our parks. Litter can range from small 2 YEARS 200 YEARS YEARS
items such as cigarette ends and chewing gum, to
plastic bags, bottles and cans.

Most litter comes from people dropping it – either Banana skins, apple cores Plastic bags Aluminium cans Glass bottles
on purpose or by accident – although some litter
comes from other sources, for example wind-blown
or domestic waste spillage.
Up to Up to Up to INDEFINITE

The main types of litter are smoking-related, 15 YEARS 100 YEARS 450 YEARS
confectionery, drinks and fast food.

Why is it a problem?

Cigarette ends Nappies Plastic drink bottles HDPE plastic
The amount of time that litter stays around once it’s
been dropped depends on what it is made from. If it
is made from a substance that was once living it will its way into waterways and the marine environment Keep Wales Tidy
eventually degrade, if not it could last for hundreds or where materials, such as plastic, break down over
even thousands of years. time but never quite disappear, creating ‘plastic
oceans’ ingested by fish and other marine life and end Welsh Government
Litter causes significant damage to our wildlife and up in the food chain.
environment, the effects of which are often long- RSPCA
lasting and extend far beyond where the problem To clear this carelessly discarded litter creates a
originates. Threats to wildlife from litter include direct clean-up cost to tax payers. In Wales, this is Eco-Schools Global
animals becoming trapped, which can lead to about £70 million per year. As well as environmental
starvation, mistaking litter for food, injury and food harm, a littered environment also negatively affects
poisoning. Litter in our streets can eventually make tourism, crime, mental health and property prices. Bin It! Programme