Put Litter in it's Place
Litter, and also graffiti, are known as "Quality of Life" crimes. While these types of crimes are often viewed as less serious than violent crimes, empirical evidence shows that they have a tremendous impact on the quality of life in our communities and can lead to serious criminal and economic problems.
The Broken Windows theory refers to an article by sociologists Dr. James Q. Wilson and Dr. George Kelling that first appeared in the Atlantic Monthly in March of 1982. In that article, the authors put forth the hypothesis that general disorder in communities contributes to the rise of serious crime. The article focused on the analogy of a broken window. If a window is broken and not repaired quickly, soon more windows will be broken as the perception that no one cares about the building spreads. When many of the windows have been broken, the feeling is created that no one cares about the street and soon other structures will be vandalized.
Litter and graffiti can act like broken windows. If not corrected these problems create the impression that no one cares about the area and making it seem dangerous.
Litter
We've all seen and heard the slogans. And we all know that litter is just plain bad. What many people, however, are unwilling to admit, is that litter is a "people issue" not a product issue.
Litter is misplaced waste, often blown by the wind, floating through storm drains or accumulating along curbs or fences. It is estimated that in some areas half the litter accumulation consists of cigarette butts. Studies also indicate that most littering occurs within 5 meters (16.5 feet) of a garbage can. 80% of marine debris originates on land! The remaining 20% consists of lost cargo and refuse from freightliners, cruise ships and fishing vessels.
The who, what, why of litter: Many studies have been conducted to determine who litters, why they litter, where they litter and what items become litter. Everyone recognizes that litter is offensive, unsanitary, and can carry disease. These studies found that people generally litter because it is easy to do so, they feel no ownership of the property, and often believe that someone is being paid to clean up after them. Litter flies from passenger vehicles and uncovered trucks and falls from pedestrians' hands. Often, people don't even consider the item – such as food scraps and cigarette butts – to be litter. There is no conclusive evidence that those who litter fit into any demographic category.
The many web sites, studies, and organizations dedicated to studying and solving litter problems make no mention of blaming products. Condemning a product and removing it from use simply because of its potential to become litter is an unrealistic approach to the problem. Under those circumstances the following items found during litter clean-up days would no longer be available to consumers: appliances, bottles, car parts, fishing line, shoes, mattresses, syringes and other medical waste, furniture, and toys.
"Litter is not an issue of type of debris, but one of personal responsibility. We ALL share in the responsibility to prevent litter-- stopping debris before it reaches our stormwater drains where it can drift to our oceans. Protect our oceans and we protect ourselves."The only true solution to litter is to change the behavior of those who litter and enforce the laws that prohibit this behavior. According to Keep America Beautiful (KAB), "Laws and ordinances that improve a community's quality of life are ineffective unless they're enforced. Enforcement is not only the role of the police department. It is most effective when police work in partnership with the community and its citizens, local public agencies and the courts." Set a good example and don't litter. The Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA) has many resources available for the anti-litter efforts in your community. Keep America Beautiful, at its website, www.kab.org, offers a program to aid communities in assessing litter problems, addressing the issue, and measuring results.
Jean-Michel Cousteau
Read more of Jean-Michel Cousteau's thoughts on litter.
 www.cpia.ca/anti-litter |
 www.kab.org |
Dart Container Corporation and others in plastics manufacturing are signatories to a voluntary "best practices" industry program, Operation Clean Sweep (OCS). Plastic resin pellets, if not properly managed and contained on land, can be swept into our waterways via stormwater drains, and make their way out into rivers, lakes, and oceans. They become another form of pollution and in large quantity can also be deadly to marine life. OCS practices have as their goal Zero Pellet Loss and the program is designed to help plastic manufacturers, processors, and transporters implement the practices that will get them to zero.
To learn more about OCS, visit:
Marine Debris
Please visit www.marinedebrissolutions.org to learn more on the issue of marine debris, what the plastics industry is doing to minimize the generation of litter in the waterways, and what all of us can do as well. This site is dedicated to providing the latest and most substantive information available on the causes and sources of marine debris, and most importantly, to finding solutions.