Litter in the United States

Litter in the United States is an environmental issue and littering is often a criminal offense, punishable with a fine as set out by statutes in many places. Littering and dumping laws, found in all fifty United States, appear to take precedence over municipal ordinances in controlling violations and act as public safety, not aesthetic measures. Similar from state-to-state, these laws define who violators are, the type or "function" of the person committing the action, and what items must be littered or dumped to constitute an illegal act. Municipal ordinances and state statutes require a "human action" in committing illegal littering or dumping, for one to be "held in violation." Most states require law enforcement officers or designated, authorized individuals, to "...witness the illegal act to write a citation." Together, prosecutions and punative fines are important in fighting illegal littering and dumping.
A significant portion of litter along roadways in the U.S. is now being attributed to improperly tarped vehicles such as open-bed vehicles as well as trash and recycling collection vehicles that have not been properly secured.

Ten Primary Sources of Litter

1. Pedestrians dropping garbage in streets and roadways.
2. Motorists discarding garbage out of their vehicle windows.
3. Uncovered loads.  Items that are not secure can easily be blown out of trucks and cause roadside littering.
4. Household refuse disposal and collection.  Animal scavengers and the wind can dislodge unsecured items placed out on the corner for collections.  Litter can also result from overloading trash containers.
5. Commercial refuse and disposal.  Poorly secured commercial refuse can easily become litter.
6. Construction projects.  Litter can come from uncontrolled building waste and workers’ lunchtime refuse.
7. People at leisure
8. Entertainment events.  Events create a large amount of litter, which can overflow onto neighboring areas when measures to cont it are not carefully planned.
9. Illegal dumping.
10. Intentional or habitual littering, for reasons such as laziness or acts of rebellions.

What Is Anti Littering law?

The Anti-Littering Law is MMDA Regulation No. 96-009 entitled, "PROHIBITING LITTERING/DUMPING/THROWING OF GARBAGE, RUBBISH OR ANY KIND OF WASTE IN OPEN OR PUBLIC PLACES, AND REQUIRING ALL OWNER'S, LESSEES, OCCUPANTS OF RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS, WHETHER PRIVATE OR PUBLIC TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN THE CLEANLINESS OF THEIR FRONTAGE AND IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION THEREOF"

Effects On Humans By Tires

Hazardous materials encapsulated within tires and other items of illegally dumped rubbish can leach into water sources, contaminate  the soil and pollute the air.
Tires are the most often dumped hazardous waste.




In 2007 the United States generated 262 million scrap tires. Thirty-eight states have laws that ban whole tires being deposited in landfills. Many of these discarded tires end up illegally dumped on public lands. Tires can become a breeding ground for insect vectors which can transmit disease to humans. Mosquitoes, which breed in stagnant water, can transmit West Nile virus and malaria. Rodents nest in accumulated tires and can transmit diseases such as Hantavirus

Top littered items

Many of the most commonly found pieces of trash include items we use every day from food wrappers to beverage containers to plastic bags.

Nearly 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are casually discarded around the world each year, making cigarette butts the most globally littered item.

Litter In The Sea

Facts about litter in the sea
•One million seabirds are killed by marine litter every year100,000 turtles and marine mammals, such as dolphins, whales and seals, are killed by plastic marine litter
• Plastics are the most common man made objects sighted at sea, with 18,000 pieces of plastic litter floating on every square kilometer of the world's oceans!
 • Six million tones of debris enters the world's oceans every year, weighing about the same as a million elephants!
 • More than 260 animal species worldwide have become entangled in or consumed fishing line, nets, ropes and other discarded equipment.
 • An astounding 86 per cent of all marine turtles are affected by marine debris.
 • Every day ships throughout the world discard 5.5 million pieces of rubbish into our oceans.
 • Carbon emissions into our atmosphere are killing our coral reefs! Our oceans are absorbing the excess carbon dioxide and becoming more acidic. The acid is literally ‘eating away' the skeleton of the corals.
 (Fun Facts)
 Do you know how long it takes for litter to break down in the ocean?
 » Paper bus and parking tickets: 2 - 4 weeks.
 » Orange and banana peel: up to 2 years.
 » Cigarette butts: 1 - 5 years.
 » Plastic bags: 10 - 20 years.
 » Foam cups and tin cans: 50 years.
 » Aluminum cans: at least 80 years. Plastic bottles: 450 years.
 » Fine fishing net: at least 600 years (much longer for heavier nets).
 » Glass bottles: 1 million years.

What is litter?

Litter consists of waste products that have been disposed improperly, without consent, at an inappropriate location. Examples of litter products such as trash, paper, cans, and bottles, that is left lying in an open or public place can be very harmful to an environment. Litter such as glass in playgrounds can cause injuries to children and animals who fall or step on it. Litter can also slow the growth of plants, and governments spend tax money each year to clean up litter when otherwise, it could go to other programs. Litter can also affect the economy because investors are less likely to devote funds to an area marred by litter.

The picture above shows that people even litter while on the road. This could also be a danger because this could lead to car accidents and fatal injuries.