2. Thesis
Littering is one of the biggest problems on our earth, but it is
easily preventable through laws and social change, such as
local clean-ups and education.
3. Relevance
- Family hates litter
- Passionate about preventing litter
- People do it without thinking
- People unaware of consequences & costs
- Major hazard
4. Overview
• What is littering?
•Facts and Prevention
•Application-
•Elementary School Lesson & Park Pick-Up
•Class Activity
5. What is littering?
Trash, such as paper, cans, and bottles,
that is left lying in an open or
public place
6. How Much Litter is There?
In just the state of Arizona:
There is 1.6 Million Pounds of litter on highways
per year
or
about the same as:
803 elephants
73 school buses
1.2 million basketballs
Maricopa Association of Governments. "Facts about Littering." Don't Trash
AZ. 2009. Web. 2 Feb. 2010. <http://http://www.donttrashaz.com/litter.asp>.
7. What It’s Made Of
Litter found on freeways and
public places
Maricopa Association of Governments. "Facts about Littering." Don't Trash AZ. 2009. Web. 2 Feb. 2010. <http://http://www.donttrashaz.com/litter.asp>.
8. Cigarette Butts
The most commonly littered item is the cigarette butt.
Smokers think that cigarette butts are not litter and
decompose quickly.
The plastic filters on cigarettes
can take up to 15 years to decompose!!
"Cigarette Litter." Http://www.cigarettelitter.org/. 2007. Web. 25 Apr. 2010.
9. HOW LONG DOES DECOMPOSITION
TAKE??
Maricopa Association of Governments. "Facts about Littering." Don't Trash
AZ. 2009. Web. 2 Feb. 2010. <http://http://www.donttrashaz.com/litter.asp>.
10. How Litter Happens
Litter happens 3 ways
1. Blown
2. Thrown
3. Dumped
The Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission. "Litter Prevention and Contrl." Http://www.keeparkansasbeautiful.com/litter_prevention/. 2006. Web. 6 Feb. 2010.
12. Waterways
Litter goes into our water and surrounds the soil
which causes ground water pollution.
Cathy. "Litter Facts and Statistics." 21 Mar. 2009. Web. 5 Apr. 2010. <http://http://www.greenecoservices.com/littering-facts-and-statistics/>.
13.
14. Eastern “Garbage Patch”
Silverman, Jacob. "Why Is the World's Biggest Landfill in the Pacific Ocean?" Http://science.howstuffworks.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch.htm. Discovery Channel, 1998-2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2010.
15. The Flow of the Trash
Silverman, Jacob. "Why Is the World's Biggest Landfill in the Pacific Ocean?" Http://science.howstuffworks.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch.htm. Discovery Channel, 1998-2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2010.
16. Money
Houses for sale in neighborhoods with litter don’t get
the best prices because of the trash and owners lose money.
Cathy. "Litter Facts and Statistics." 21 Mar. 2009. Web. 5 Apr. 2010. <http://http://www.greenecoservices.com/littering-facts-and-statistics/>.
17. Effects on Farmers
Cathy. "Litter Facts and Statistics." 21 Mar. 2009. Web. 5 Apr. 2010. <http://http://www.greenecoservices.com/littering-facts-and-statistics/>.
18. Animals
Litter kills animals. Many animals crawl into
bottles or jars and get stuck and starve to death.
Cathy. "Litter Facts and Statistics." 21 Mar. 2009. Web. 5 Apr. 2010.
19. Animals and Food Litter
Cathy. "Litter Facts and Statistics." 21 Mar. 2009. Web. 5 Apr. 2010. <http://http://www.greenecoservices.com/littering-facts-and-statistics/>.
20. Health
- Health of Animals
- Health of People
Cathy. "Litter Facts and Statistics." 21 Mar. 2009. Web. 5 Apr. 2010. <http://http://www.greenecoservices.com/littering-facts-and-statistics/>.
21. Health Continued
Cathy. "Litter Facts and Statistics." 21 Mar. 2009. Web. 5 Apr. 2010. <http://http://www.greenecoservices.com/littering-facts-and-statistics/>.
22. Safety Concerns
Cigarette butts, bottles, accidents, and illegal substances
"Programs & Initiatives Highway Beautification/Adopt-A-Highway - Enforcng Litter Laws." Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Web. 16 Apr.
23. Fire Hazards
Cathy. "Litter Facts and Statistics." 21 Mar. 2009. Web. 5 Apr. 2010. <http://http://www.greenecoservices.com/littering-facts-and-statistics/>.
24. Car Accidents
Cathy. "Litter Facts and Statistics." 21 Mar. 2009. Web. 5 Apr. 2010.
<http://http://www.greenecoservices.com/littering-facts-and-statistics/>.
36. Pennsylvania Laws
Whether it’s littering or illegal
dumping, any improper disposal
of trash is against the law in
Pennsylvania.
"Programs & Initiatives Highway Beautification/Adopt-A-Highway - Enforcng Litter Laws." Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Web. 16 Apr. 2010. <http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/Bureaus/
pdHwyBeau.nsf/infoEnforce?OpenForm>.
37. Penalties
"Programs & Initiatives Highway Beautification/Adopt-A-Highway - Enforcng Litter Laws." Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Web. 16 Apr. 2010.
<http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/Bureaus/pdHwyBeau.nsf/infoEnforce?OpenForm>.
38. The Pennsylvania Vehicle Code and Anti-
Littering
General Rule
Removal of Material
Removal after an accident
Penalties
Disposition of fines
"Programs & Initiatives Highway Beautification/Adopt-A-Highway - Enforcng Litter Laws." Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Web. 16 Apr. 2010.
<http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/Bureaus/pdHwyBeau.nsf/infoEnforce?OpenForm>.
39. Roadway Fine
People can also be fined for an unsecured load. The Arizona
Department of Public Safety states that violators could be
charged with a class two misdemeanor.
U.S. EPA. "Litter Laws." Web. 5 Mar. 2010. <http://http://www.ohiodnr.com/
Home/ToolsandResources/LitterFacts/LitterLaws/tabid/18283/Default.aspx>.
40. Where to put the trash
Appropriate Cans
“Anti-Litter” Bag
Dumpster
Keep it
Cathy. "Litter Facts and Statistics." 21 Mar. 2009. Web. 5 Apr. 2010. <http://http://www.greenecoservices.com/littering-facts-and-statistics/>.
41. How to Prevent Littering
1. Set an example by not littering.
2. Pick up one piece of litter every day.
3. Every week, pick up all the litter in
front of your house, including the street
Jai. "12 Ways to Prevent Litter." 2009. Web. Mar. 2010. <http://http://www.greenecoservices.com/12-ways-you-can-prevent-litter/>.
42. 4. Ask your neighbors to properly dispose of their trash.
5. Make sure that your trash cans have lids that are attached.
If you have curbside trash service, don’t put
unopened containers or boxes filled with trash out there
Jai. "12 Ways to Prevent Litter." 2009. Web. Mar. 2010. <http://http://www.greenecoservices.com/12-ways-you-can-prevent-litter/>.
43. 6. Carry a litter bag in your car.
7. If you or a member of your family is
involved in a group or sport encourage the
group to volunteer in a cleanup.
"12 Ways to Prevent Litter." 2009. Web. Mar. 2010. <http://http://www.greenecoservices.com/12-ways-you-can-prevent-litter/>.
44. 8. Ask your neighbors or friends to join you in cleaning up
9. Find out how you can plant flowers along a
curb or sidewalk.
10. Ask business
owners to check their
dumpsters every
day to make sure
tops and side doors
are closed.
Jai. "12 Ways to Prevent Litter." 2009. Web. Mar. 2010. <http://http://www.greenecoservices.com/12-ways-you-can-prevent-litter/>.
45. 11. Ask business owners to put cans with signs in front of their
business
12. If you own or work in construction
make sure your trucks are covered when moving materials
Jai. "12 Ways to Prevent Litter." 2009. Web. Mar. 2010. <http://http://www.greenecoservices.com/12-ways-you-can-prevent-litter/>.
47. Process
1. Asking for permission
and setting a date
2. Planning the Pick-Up
3. Getting the materials
4. Going to the School and
Teaching
5. Heading to the park
48. Teaching the lesson
I went to Mrs. Miller’s second grade class and taught
them a lesson on littering
49. Heading to the park
first Mrs. Millers class and i sat down and talked about rules
then we got together and went to the park
55. Work Cited
*Maricopa Association of Governments. "Facts about Littering." Don't Trash AZ. 2009.
Web. 2 Feb. 2010. <http://http://www.donttrashaz.com/litter.asp>.
*Cathy. "Litter Facts and Statistics." 21 Mar. 2009. Web. 5 Apr. 2010. <http://http://
www.greenecoservices.com/littering-facts-and-statistics/>.
*Jai. "12 Ways to Prevent Litter." 2009. Web. Mar. 2010. <http://http://
www.greenecoservices.com/12-ways-you-can-prevent-litter/>.
*"Programs & Initiatives Highway Beautification/Adopt-A-Highway - Enforcng Litter Laws."
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Web. 16 Apr. 2010.
<http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/Bureaus/pdHwyBeau.nsf/infoEnforce?OpenForm>.
The Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission. "Litter Prevention and Contrl." Http://
www.keeparkansasbeautiful.com/litter_prevention/. 2006. Web. 6 Feb. 2010.
"Cigarette Litter." Http://www.cigarettelitter.org/. 2007. Web. 25 Apr. 2010.
Silverman, Jacob. "Why Is the World's Biggest Landfill in the Pacific Ocean?"
Http://science.howstuffworks.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch.htm.
Discovery Channel, 1998-2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2010.
56. Conclusion
I learned a lot about littering that I never knew before
I got a chance to teach kids about littering and how it effects
our earth and I got the chance do a park pick up which really
made a difference
Editor's Notes
*laws: arizona laws and prevention
*social change: doing things differently to avoid littering
Ever since I was little I was always taught not to litter.
I&#x2019;m not sure why, but my family hates littering.
As I got older I learned more and
more about littering and now I'm totally against it too,
so when I thought about my senior grad project
and something that I was passionate about,
I thought about littering.
Litter is everything from food cartons to tires
Types of common litter are Styrofoam cups, plastic utensils, snack-food wrappers, soda bottles and cans, paper bags, newspapers
Un common litter boxes, clothes,, metal foil, anti-freeze and motor oil containers, and paint thinner
Highway litter is composed of 59 % paper, 16 % cans, 6 % bottles, 6 % plastics and 13 % unknown.
*Cigarette butts contain toxic chemicals that can end up in storm
drains and contaminate our water.
*the trash that takes the longest to decompose is styrofoam containers and plastic jugs
**the reason it takes so long is because gum doesn't actually start to decompose like everything else, it starts to become part of the ground
*Litter can blow out of a truck bed without the driver knowing.
*Do not putting anything in a truck bed that could be blow out on the road.
*Cover all your loads to avoid items blowing out.
*Litter should not be thrown from a vehicle.
*Avoid throwing litter out of car windows by keeping a bag in your car
*It is illegal to dump your trash at a site where a dumpster was before
*These dump sites can also poison our water and kill our local wildlife.
Litter blocks storm drains which causes flooding
It reduces house appeal and property values for home buyers
It can kill thousands of animals when they eat litter or become tangled in it
It damages fishing boats
Causes injury to swimmers
Costs millions of dollars to remove
Basically that means that whenever you litter in waterways or put trash in drains you&#x2019;ll end up swimming in it later
***SITE THIS PICTURE!
In the broad expanse of the northern Pacific Ocean is the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
The Gyre is a slowly moving spiral of currents made from a high-pressure system of air currents.
This is an oceanic desert, which is filled with tiny phytoplankton and not many big fish or mammals.
Since there&#x2019;s no fish, fishermen and sailors don&#x2019;t really travel through the gyre.
The area is filled with millions of pounds of trash and most of it plastic.
It's the largest landfill in the world, and it floats in the middle of the ocean.
The amount of money being spent picking up litter could be used in different ways like repairing roads or hiring more fireman and police
Penn-DOT spends $10.1 million cleaning up roadside litter every year. It costs $835 to clean up an illegal dumpsite and it is estimated that there are thousands of illegal dumpsites in Pennsylvania.
*Cattle and other animals can die from eating metal and ground up glass from littering.
* Machinery gets jammed from trash
*Need repairs to fix tires damaged from broken bottles.
*Downtime and lost crops.
* Animals can get caught in the plastic six pack rings on sodas, plastic bags and fishing lines
*Birds that get stuck can&#x2019;t fly away from their predator. Animals get caught in six pack rings and get strangled and grow too big to get out
*Animals die from getting cut and infected . Every year millions of animals such as birds, fish and ducks die from litter.
You shouldn't ever throw food or litter out of a car window. &#xA0;
When they smell food it attracts the animals to the road where they can be killed or injured by cars.
*Scavengers, such as rats are drawn to litter. Toxins in the litter can make them (and other animals) sick
*Rats also carry many types of diseases that can spread to humans
Litter can cause sickness because the litter pollutes our air and makes the oxygen dirty.
The dirty oxygen effects our lungs.
The more pollution from the litter that we breath in, the more that the gunk builds up in our lungs and makes it harder to breathe.
This could be the cause for asthma and other lung related conditions.
Burning cigarette butts can fly into the open window of another car and cause fires.
Litter can cause accidents with vehicles trying to avoid litter or making unsafe maneuvers.
Urine-filled bottles thrown from trucks pose a serious health and safety hazard.
Every 12 minutes a fire starts in or because of litter.
Litter hurts people.
Every year people get into numerous accidents caused by litter.
People in these accidents are injured and sometimes even killed in their attempts to avoid litter in the roadways. Young children fall on litter in playgrounds, get cut and need medical attention.
*there are 7 main causes of littering
*motorcyclists feel like since they&#x2019;re not in a car and they don&#x2019;t have anywhere to put the trash that they have more of a right to litter which isn&#x2019;t true
*bicyclists have basically the same attitude as the motorists
*since bicycles are more for working out most of the trash coming from them are water bottles
*easy fix? bring a canteen or a reusable bottle
*Littering in parks wastes tax dollars.&#xA0;
*Littering at events raises ticket prices.&#xA0;
*Littering at festivals sends visitors and tourists a negative message.
*Tarps and tie-downs can be bought and cost less than $10 at most home improvement stores.
*Don't rely on the weight of items in your truck.
*Things like speed bumps, sharp turns and sudden stops can make it fall out
*Even the heavy items like furniture, tools and equipment.
*if your going to put trash in a uncovered trash can or dumpster you might as well put it on the ground
*86% of trash throw in uncovered dumpsters end up on the ground from being knocked over or the wind.
*If your trash people have open trucks, always bag your trash
*Always make sure your trash is tightly sealed so it cannot be scattered by weather or animals.&#xA0;
Construction site trash contains things like material waste, worker trash, items falling from delivery trucks, cement truck waste and
Construction sites are not an exception from dirty lot and trash container laws.&#xA0;
Clean and orderly worksites are safer than trashy, disorderly worksites.
*as you can see in the picture above a piece of trash is making it&#x2019;s way out to the ground.
*Loading dock trash includes shrink wrap, boxes, shipping documents, drink and fast food containers and tobacco products
*Even though the customers don't see the loading dock the trash sends a negative message to the employees and the suppliers.&#xA0;&#xA0;
Intentional littering: when you litter on purpose. Lack of concern, lack of social pressure to do the right thing, peer pressure, ignorance of the law
Unintentional littering is littering not on purpose for example unsecured vehicle loads and overflowing trash containers and dumpsters.
Illegal dumps are found in deserted places in both rural and urban areas.
People have illegal dumps because they are trying to avoid paying trash disposal costs or are unaware of how to properly dispose of items.
Most dumpsites have lots of liter such as tires, household trash, appliances, bulky items, vehicle parts, construction/remodeling trash, brush and other woody materials.
A summary offense:
imposes a fine of not less than $50, no more than $300, or imprisonment for not more than 90 days or both.
Fines vary and are set by the local district justice.
General Rule: No one will throw or dump trash on any highway or public place. On private property you can not litter without permission from the owner.
Removal of material: Any person who drops throws or dumps trash on highway, public and private places without the owners consent will immediately remove the trash or pay for it to be removed.
Removal Accident: Any person removing a wrecked or damaged vehicle from a highway will remove it from the highway and/or or neutralize any glass, oil or other substances from the accident.
Penalties: Any person violating a littering code for example the summary offense, will be sentenced to either a fine up to $600 that occurs in an agricultural security area or a $300 fine or a violation that happens anywhere else
Disposition of fines: The money used from fines or bail money will be used for two things, one half will go to the agency or local government
the other half will be given to the department of Statewide public education and awareness programs that promote litter control and recycling awareness
* depending on injuries, the fines, plus court costs, can range from $460 to well over $1,000,
*not putting food in a paper or plastic dispenser or vise versa
*keeping a bag for trash in your car or outside your house, preferably with a lid
*find a dumpster with a lid
*putting things like napkin or a gum wrapper in your purse or pocket till you can find a trash can
*some people think that one piece of trash doesn't make a difference but it makes a difference in both a good way and a bad way.
*its bad because if ever single person in the world has that same attitude about it the that one piece of trash turns into 2 billion pieces of trash
*it&#x2019;s good because if everyone decides to pick up one piece of trash then that one piece of picked up trash turns into 2 nillion pieces of picked up trash (common sense) =)
*story about my neighbors and the trash cans
*just getting a regular Genuardi&#x2019;s bag and just sticking it in your car will make a difference
*it lessens the chances of you littering and every once in a while isn&#x2019;t really a big deal.
*even if it&#x2019;s 2 or 3 people picking up a few pieces of trash in your free time will make all the difference
*i made a slide show similar to my keynote slides to teach them
*the kids volunteered to answer questions and solve problems related to littering
*had an activity where they had to drag the different types of litter to the correct trash can
*first we collected our bags and went to Bridgeport Park
*it was a walking field trip because the park was right behind the school
*the kids learned a lot about littering
*they knew what was litter and what to do when you see litter
*they loved helping the environment
*they made the park look AMAZING
*the kids started to fight over the trash
*they started off treating it as a competition
*they got in trouble by the teacher a lot
*some people dropped their bags and lost some of their trash
2 i used the most
*litter facts and statistics on greenecoservices.com
*got all my stats and information
*12 ways to prevent litter
