What Is Litter?

Litter is defined as any solid waste object (disposable item or object) that can be held in a person’s hand that is left behind or placed in an inappropriate location. Any such item disposed of in an inappropriate manner is to be regarded – the end outcome of an environmentally undesirable disposal action

Litter is defined as ‘man made’, misplaced solid waste. Litter is incredibly diverse, both in terms of type and where it is found.

The litter stream is classified in five groups such as;

* Paper: packages(boxes and cartons), cigarette packets, drink cartons(milk and fruit juice), newspapers; advertising materials and catalogues; cups and takeaway food packages and vending tickets
* Plastics: Bottles (soft drink, fruit juice, detergent);cigarette butts, bags; sacks; sheeting; cupsand takeaway food containers; confectionary wrappers; six-pack can holders; styrene foam; straws and other plastics
* Cans: beer and soft drink(aluminium), food and industrial (e.g. paint)
* Glass: beer bottles(large and small); soft drink; wine and spirits; food bottles and jars
* Miscellaneous materials: cigarette litter, tyres, clothing and material, household items, syringes, ice cream sticks, rubber, metal, bottle tops and can seals, metal foil takeaway containers and construction materials.

Litter Sources

* Pedestrians: Pedestrians generate much of the litter found in the environment. Smokers discard tonnes of cigarette butts on footpaths and in gutters, often in belief that butts are not litter.
* Motorists: Motorists contribute significantly to highway litter
* Uncovered loads: Uncovered loads on trucks and trailers create a high proportion of litter along traffic corridors and highways
* Domestic and commercial waste and recycling collection : Poor workplace practices during the waste collectionprocess both at household and commercial locations contribute to litter
* Loading/ Unloading operations : Loading/ unloading areas at commercial and retail centres contribute to litter through poor waste management and work practices
* Construction Project and Building Sites: The building and construction industry generates litter in the environment through the building process and uncontrolled building waste
* Entertainment Events : Large entertainment events cause excessive litter. Event organisers do not place a high priority on litter control. The impact of a large event is not only limited to the actual entertainment venue, but often spills in surrounding areas.

Who Litters?

* Australians of all ages are more likely to use bins than to litter. Overall, people are just over twice as likely to put objects into bins, as they are to litter them.
* There are no significant differences in littering behaviour between females and males
* The people least likely to litter are those aged below 15 years; all adults in all age groups litter more than this group
* People under 25 years are more likely to litter if they are in a group
* People over 25 are most likely to litter if they are alone
* Bin use is most common between 11am & 2pm, littering is most common around 4pm
* Distance to a bin is directly proportional to likelihood of someone littering, but signage and wording on bins are also important

Rates of Biodegradability

Product	Time it takes
Cotton Rags	1-5 months
Paper	2-5 months
Rope	3-14 months
Orange Peels	6 months
Wool Socks	1-5 years
Cigarette butts	1-12 years
Plastic coated paper cartons	5 years
Plastic bags	10-20 years
Leather shoes	25-40 years
Nylon fabric	30-40 years
Tin cans	50-100 years
Aluminum cans	80-100 years
Plastic 6-pack holder rings	450 years
Glass bottles	1 million years
Plastic bottles	Never