Litter Facts

• 250 million tons of trash is generated each year in the U.S.
• 4.6 pounds of waste is created every day by the average person.
• Common litter includes cigarette butts, plastic bags, paper, candy wrappers, fast-food packaging, bottle caps, 6-pack can holders, glass bottles, and plastic straws.
• Men and women are equally likely to litter.
• People under age 15 are least likely to litter; people under the age of 25 are most likely to litter when in a group; and, people over the age of 25 are most likely to litter when alone.
• In one single day, nearly 7 million pounds of litter were removed from beaches, lakes, and streams.
• Animals from nearly 443 species are entangled in or ingest marine debris annually. The majority of these die from starvation, exhaustion, or infection.
• People litter because:
• there is a presence of other litter.
• it’s the easiest way to get rid of unwanted things.
• littering is acceptable by people who pay taxes to have someone else pick it up.
• dumping is a social activity we learned from our parents and passed on unconsciously to our children.

From http://www.everymondaymatters.com/