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Go Green, Keep It Clean!

By Charlie Weiblen

Real Estate Broker/Owner with Archwood Properties

June 16, 2009 08:52 AM

Research and experience prove that litter - intentional or unintentional pollution resulting from consumer waste products being carelessly handled or improperly disposed - attracts more litter. A clean community, by contrast, discourages littering and raises local living standards and quality of life.

There is no such thing as a single source of litter or a single profile of a litterer. The seven primary sources of litter are:

Pedestrians or cyclists who do not use receptables.
Motorists who do not use car ashtrays or litter bags
Business dumpsters that are improperly covered.
Loading trucks and commercial marinas with inadequate waste receptacles.
Construction and demolition sites without tarps and receptacles to contain debris and waste.
Trucks with uncovered loads on local roads and highways.
Household trash scattered before or during collection.

For individuals to make a difference, the following approach to community change is encouraged by Keep America Beautiful

Education - in schools and in communities
Technology - equipment to measure and manage waste
Ordinances - laws which impact solid waste and litter management
Enforcement - consistent, effective law and ordinance enforcement

Litter is the result of too little attention to how waste is handled - the careless and casual handling of waste creates litter. Knowing more about the causes of litter and where it comes from is a good place to start in addressing litter prevention. One person, one business, one organization can positively affect the behavior of others in their community.

People tend to litter because they feel no sense of personal ownership. In addition, even though areas such as parks and beaches are public property, people often believe that someone else (a park maintenance or highway worker) will take responsibility to pick up litter that has accumulated over time. Because any and all items used in human activity have a potential of being littered, the scale of this issue is significant.

Litter is often a starting point for other community blight so everyone shares a personal responsibility to help prevent litter in their community. Solutions that involve public education and volunteer action are very important. Knowing more about the causes of litter and where it comes from is a good place to start in addressing litter prevention.

There is no such thing as a single "littering type." People of all ages and social backgrounds have been observed littering - men and women, children, and all ages in between are likely to litter. Changing behaviors and societal norms begins with each of us ... and it begins with you.

Areas most likely to be littered fall into four categories: special event venues, roadways and highways, high traffic and everyday locations, and ‘transition points.'

Special Event Venues - Special event venues such as fairs, concerts, parades, and other special events attract a large number of people who will generate waste. The larger the event, the more waste it typically creates.
Roadways and Highways - Roadways and highways as well as higway on/off ramps and roadway median strips have increasingly become the target of litterers. Recent censuses report that people spent more and more hours in the car every day. People are snacking, smoking and eating meals while traveling by car.
- Car litterbags need to be utilized. And, when these are full, they should be emptied in a trash receptacle.
- Smokers must use a car ashtray and/or a pocket ashtray to properly dispose of cigarettes, lighting material and butts.
- All businesses should encourage their customers to dispose of trash properly.
- Businesses like food vendors, convenience store owners, auto dealerships and auto rental agencies need to help their customers do the right thing, to be responsible for proper disposal of trash and waste.
High Traffic and Everyday Locations - High traffic and everyday locations are fast food businesses and deli's, convenience stores, picnic grounds, park benches and other high pedestrian traffic areas. Every community has businesses selling consumable products that generate packaging waste.
Transition Points - Transition points are the places where someone stops eating, drinking or smoking before they proceed. A transition point may be the entrance to a public building, an office, a retail establishment, a train platform or bus stop. Individuals may drop items and create litter before they move into a building, onto a bus or into the train.

What Happens to Litter any Why It Matters

No matter where litter starts, it moves. From streets and highways to parks and waterways. Wind and weather moves litter around a community, into the gutters, planted gardens, alleyways and parking areas.

In one study, researchers found that 18% of all littered items end up in creeks, streams, and waterways as pollution. Other influences include changes in household and business trash collection.

When litter is not picked up promptly, animals and wildlife are natually attracted, trash bags are opened, and the trash is distributed on the ground. Once this happens, it is easily caught by the wind and becomes ... LITTER!

Litter is a result of some individuals paying too little attention to their actions and others carelessly handling waste. Littering is an individual behavioral problem or a business problem that can become a problem for Plano.

We know it takes each and every one of us to make a difference. Do your part ... Help us prevent litter in your community.

What You Can Do To Prevent Litter

Changing a societal norm like littering begins with each of us. Each person must accept responsiblity for their actions and influence the actions of others around them at home, at school, in your place of business, and in the community at large. By modeling proper trash and waste disposal, you will cause others to consider changing their behaviors and embodying appropriate actions, too.

Here are some examples of what you - and others - can do to help prevent litter in your community.

Set an example for others, especially co-workers, friends and children by using trash receptacles and not littering.
Always have available a litter bag and portable ashtray in your car.
If you are a smoker, carry and use a portable or pocket ashtray.
Make sure your trashcans have lids that can be securely fastened.
Encourage the identification of "Transition Points" and commit to having ash and trash receptacles placed at those points and properly maintained.
Encourage building owners and business managers to place ash receptacles at points outdoors where their employees and/or customers smoke.
Encourage the distribution of portable or pocket ashtrays and litter bags and the education of citizens about individual responsibility for proper waste disposal.
Encourage Plano's "Adopt-a-Highway" partners (local community organizations, youth groups and school groups) who augment the regular maintenance of public places by our employees.
Assure easy access to dumpsters by employees and contractors. Check dumpsters daily to see that top and side doors are closed. This prevents scavengers from spreading trash on the ground.
Cover all open loads on trucks leaving your business. Encourage vendors and contractors to do the same.
Provide ash and trash receptacles at entrances, exits, loading docks, picnic areas as well as in parking lots and along walkways of your business. Remember, these should be placed where the people generally gather.
Educate your employees about the importance of individual responsibility for a clean and safe working environment.Encourage groups to participate in "Community Cleanups."
Make your festival, fair, parade, or any outdoor community events "waste-wise and litter free" by involving all participants in the planning.
Distribute litter bags and portable or pocket ashtrays at the entrances of your event and make sure everyone knows that your event is a "waste-wise and litter free" event.
Place large trash receptacles and recycling receptacles near food venues and eating areas. Remember, a large event with a large number of attendees should equal large, well-marked receptacles.
If you place event volunteers nearby to help attendees find the receptacles as they need them, you will reduce clean-up while educating people about recycling and proper waste disposal.
Before you light up, identify where you will dispose of your cigarette waste when you finish smoking. Use ash and ash/trash receptacles.
Carry a pocket ashtray all the time or have a portable ashtray with you as you leave your home, office or car.
Encourage fellow smokers to be responsible for their cigarette litter, too.
Pick up after your dog as you walk through your neighborhood. Use newpaper delivery bags, "scoopers" or other easy-to-use methods to clean up after your pet.
Keeping your pet on a leash assures that it doesn't foul neighbors' yards or public spaces in your neighborhood.
Take responsibility for your pet and its actions.