Pick Up Litter
FACTS
- 250 million tons of trash is generated each year in the U.S.
- 4.6 pounds of waste is created every day by the average person.
- Common litter includes cigarette butts, plastic bags, paper, candy wrappers, fast-food packaging, bottle caps, 6-pack can holders, glass bottles, and plastic straws.
- Men and women are equally likely to litter.
- People under age 15 are least likely to litter; people under the age of 25 are most likely to litter when in a group; and, people over the age of 25 are most likely to litter when alone.
- In one single day, nearly 7 million pounds of litter were removed from beaches, lakes, and streams.
- Animals from nearly 443 species are entangled in or ingest marine debris annually. The majority of these die from starvation, exhaustion, or infection.
- People litter because:
- there is a presence of other litter.
- it’s the easiest way to get rid of unwanted things.
- littering is acceptable by people who pay taxes to have someone else pick it up.
- dumping is a social activity we learned from our parents and passed on unconsciously to our children.
TAKE ACTION TODAY
- Spend one hour today picking up litter. Or decide that every time you see a piece of litter today, you’ll pick it up and throw it away.
- If you see someone littering, politely ask them to pick it up. Or pick it up yourself and maybe the person who dropped it will see you and get the hint.
- Organize a team of neighbors, friends, co-workers, or fellow church members to pick up litter in a specific neighborhood for an hour. Have one leader purchase rubber gloves and garbage bags for the team. Make it more fun by turning the cleanup effort into a game/contest.
- Enjoy making a difference, getting exercise, getting to know people better, and having cleaner surroundings.
YOU MATTER
If every person picked up just one piece of litter today, there would be over 300 million fewer pieces of litter. If every person picked up 10 pieces of litter, there would be 3 billion fewer pieces damaging our environment. If you and your friends spend just one hour today picking up litter in your own neighborhood, you will not only pick up thousands of pieces of trash, you will also make a tremendous impact on your community. Just be sure to bend your knees.
Comments
4 Responses to “Pick Up Litter”Speak Your Mind
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A good idea is to carry a small plastic bag with you when you are out walking and pick up trash as you go along. i don’t recommend picking up the gross stuff without gloves, but papers, wrappers, cups, cans. I have a dog, so I am usually carrying bags to clean up after her anyway. One of the most life-changing experiences for me was when I was in R.O.T.C. and I had to clean up litter. It was disgusting how much stuff people just throw around. It also helps that all of my part time jobs have been service jobs (fast food, retail, etc.)
Love your saying “Picking up litter is not community service, it’s serving your community”.
Picking up litter is good exercise that produces quick results. If there were just 1 or 2 people for every mile that would keep the litter picked up while getting their walking exercise, it would make a world of difference.
I recommend using a reach extender. It saves your back and you can grab the litter while walking and not even break your stride.
We need to understand that litter is a problem everywhere and it comes from several sources; Dumpsters, loading docks, unsecured loads in trucks, waste hauling, open trash cans, construction sites, motorist and pedestrians. Not all litter is thrown out.
I’m writting a speech that relates to litter…this is a great site! I wish the whole world could see this…and help!
I’ve been picking up litter most of my life, I’m 67 years old. I need help, the planet needs help. We all gotta help with this issue. Litter is a polite term for trash, trash is the direct result of negligence and not caring, it’s a sad sign of our times. I’m not giving up, I never will, just had to spout off there for a minute. I just purchased a “bag hoop” http://www.baghoop.com, and I’ve had a grabber for a long time. The bag hoop allows you to keep a large garbage bag open at your side for easier litter collection. I pick up a lot of trash and sometimes I get so much I have to leave it in piles which makes it harder for the end person to retrieve it but at least it’s gone and out of sight. The bag hoop will help contain the junk into a more efficient process. Most towns welcome volunteers to pick up litter and either in large piles or better yet in bags for later pickup by the highway department. I just wish that the states, towns and cities would get more “pro active” about their litter problem. I would like to see a national guideline for penalizing “litter pigs”. One of my first bumper stickers was, “LITTERPIGS BELONG ON ROADGANGS”. I would like to see a fine that would mean something. I’ve seen signs in Ma. that said, “Littering. Fines up to $10,000 NOW WE’RE TALKING. Anyway, we all have to stay strong and continue to service our community, picking up litter is a self satisfying effort and we have to spread the word. I now have some great PICK UP LITTER stickers, 8″ long, 3″ wide, oval shaped, neon green with white lettering. They really make a statement. They look great on guardrails and metal light poles, and the rear of my car. Keep the faith out there my brothers and sisters, you know most of us are doing the right thing. Aloha. Parker vets2008@live.com 603-724-8812