Why Do People Litter?
It is amazing that with 94% of people identifying litter as a major environmental issue we need litter prevention programs at all!
Why do people litter and how do we transform this concern into action?
The Beverage Industry Environment Council (BIEC) commissioned Melbourne-based social psychologists, Community Change, to conduct research into littering behaviours. Community Change identified the following types of littering behaviours:
- Foul shooting: Litter is thrown at a bin, it misses the bin and the person walks away
- Clean sweeping / the broom: On arriving at a table where others have littered, waste is swept onto the ground
- Flagrant flinging: Litter is through the air or drop without any apparent concern
- 90%ing or dual depositing: Most of the rubbish is put into bin, but some is left behind, or smaller items are dropped
- Wedging: Pieces of litter are stuffed into gaps between seats and other places
- Grinding: Smokers who grind their cigarettes into the ground
- Inching: Litter is left and the person slowly moves away from it
- Undertaking: Litter is buried, often under sand at the beach
For further information on littering behaviour studies visit the Packaging Stewardship Forum or Community Change's website
EPA NSW identified five types of people with respect to litter:
- Non litterers - environmentally conscious, don't litter and usually pick up litter of others
- Inconvenients - too hard, too much trouble, someone else's problem
- Ignorants - these people are simply unaware of a link between the environment and their litter behaviour
- Willful Arrogants - usually litter in a context ie "it's OK to litter in urban areas but not in the bush"
- Anti-establishments - make a statement with purposeful littering
Visit EPA NSW's website for more information on litter.
