PART A: THE DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS OF LITTERING Everyone knows what litter is because they see it along roadways, sidewalks,

parks, rivers etc., but what is more important is recognizing what makes up litter so that it can be dealt with properly. Locals need to become responsible caretakers of the environment. This writing is purposely to show the detrimental effects of littering. Littering is knowingly depositing in any manner litter on any public or private property or in any public or private waters, without permission to do so. In addition, litter is defined as any unused or unconsumed substance or waste material which has been discarded. Littering is much more serious problem than some think it is, not just environmental but also an economic problem too because countries spend huge sums of money to clean and remove litter out of our environment. Littering is especially done because people are lazy and unaware of the serious consequences of their actions. Litter also results due to the unavailability of proper rubbish disposal facilities. This writing tells you about litter and the problems it can cause. It includes information about causes of littering, effects of littering, effects of nothing is done to stop littering and the solutions to the problem. Why do people litter? Is it because they are lazy and ignorant or is it because they do not care for our environment? Probably due to both of these reasons, and until people develop global ecological conscience littering will continue to harm our environment. Moreover, some explanations of why people litter is that it is an anti-social behavior, the result of negligence, habit, and laziness. Another issue that affects the amount of litter is the lack of enforcement of anti-litter laws. This is most likely due to the amount of more serious offences that the

authorities have to deal with, especially in urban areas. The measures set up for disposal and control of waste may also be part of the problem. Trash receptacles along sidewalks and other heavily trafficked areas can create more of a litter problem if they are not designed or maintained properly. In many cases there are not enough trash bins or they are too far apart and this can lead to overfilling or people littering because there is not a bin close by. For instance, night markets usually don't provide rubbish bins and all waste just goes onto the ground or into the nearest drain. Why? This is because it is more convenience to them. Furthermore, the reasons include lack of education about the impact of littering such as civic, moral education and parents attitude as parents set an example to their children but they do litter in front of their kids. The

biggest cause of littering is the societys perception that keeps telling them that they do have cleaners who are hired to do the cleaning. The effects are many, and include harm to our storm water systems, oceans, rivers and streams along with our wildlife. Litter is deadly to wildlife, especially marine animals. Street litter washes into storm drains, into our waterways and ends up in the ocean. Some of this litter washes back up onto beaches. Some stays in the water, where it can kill wildlife. Mess causes animals to die slowly. In addition, toxic waste include chemicals, heavy metals, radiation, dangerous pathogens, batteries, used computer equipment, paint and pesticides can cause serious health problems to humans, animals and plants. Everything that touches the ground or goes in our trash eventually ends up in our rivers, drinking water, or on our plates as dinner. Plants are capable of taking up toxic chemicals from soil contamination. Moreover, some waste can be recycled but not done so will lead to excess use of natural resources, These dirty environments will affect human beings psychologically. Litter also poses a threat to our public health and is often a breeding ground for bacteria. Above all, littering is doing significant damage to our environment, not only from visual point of view, but it also harms plants and animals, and can also harm people because litter often contains germs that can lead to several diseases. Litter also destroys the beauty of parks and beaches, making people avoid these areas. Thus, affect the image of a country if the people practice dumping of rubbish indiscriminately. It is frustrating with the fact that people continued to litter and nothing has done to discontinue this problem. People still take things easily. This will continue until visitors start to paint a negative picture of the country. Thus, more money will be spent by the government to clear the rubbish dumped by the people. Furthermore, if nothing still be done it will spread disease that cause unproductive workers in the country and thus add to the burden of the government as they seek medical treatment which is largely subsidized by the government. Besides, this attitude shows the failure of our National Education policy proves that it failed to educate the people to take up responsibilities and Nation Building. Foremost, the top solution to stop littering is via law enforcement. While there are litter laws in place all across the country that make it illegal for anyone to litter, they are very difficult to enforce unless it is large scale illegal dumping. Increase fine and strict enforcement of law will help, at least it do. Educational campaigns are by far the most crucial element of any litter

reduction plan. The idea is, to teach people that casual littering can have a serious impact on the many issues that were discussed earlier such as human health, wildlife, and the economy. Educating the public on these issues can be done in a variety of ways such as integration into school curriculum or after school activities, anti-littering messages on buses, mass media campaigns on the radio, and or television. Additionally, cleanup campaigns able to provide information about how litter, or chemicals from litter, can be harmful to human and wildlife health. The key to any successful education program is to understand the group that should be targeted, and the best way to get the message across to them. It would be wise for an educational campaign targeting a large area, like a nationwide media campaign for example, to address this group. For a smaller campaign designed for a specific community, it is more important to create a program targeting the dominant group of people that make up that community. Reducing the amount of waste that is created also plays a very important role. This includes getting businesses to reduce packaging, eliminate the use of unwanted advertisements passed out, recycle, and use products or packaging that are recyclable or biodegradable. Besides just getting businesses involved, it also means encouraging the public to recycle and reuse the products they use by recycling in their own homes, utilizing recycling facilities elsewhere, reusing plastic grocery bags or using reusable shopping bags instead, reducing the amount of non-biodegradable products they use and educating the public on what should be recycled and other ways they can help reduce waste should be considered as part of an educational campaign. In addition to that cleaning operations is a wise tool, too. These include street sweeping, trash and recycling bins in public areas, and large, organized, volunteer cleaning operations like adopt a river or block. Street sweeping is very effective at removing trash from the streets, but fairly expensive and only effective if done in areas with a high volume of litter and frequently enough to remove most of the litter before it washes away. In order to help people not litter it is also important to have enough trash and recycling bins in public areas, and make sure they are properly designed so that litter does not blow or fall out. As a conclusion, how do we stop littering and protect our environment? Changing individual behavior is the key to preventing litter. Basically, people are more likely to litter in areas where others have already littered. So, if you see litter, pick it up. Littering solutions start with each one of us as individuals to do our part and help save our environment.