All sorts of people drop litter, and there are many reasons given as to why this might be. People have all sorts of theories as to what would stop people from littering. And people also have all sorts of excuses for littering… Here are some of the reasons we are aware of:
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They can’t be bothered or are too lazy to find a bin
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They have no sense of pride in their community
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There is a lack of education / poor parenting of young people
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If an area is already dirty, why bother to look for a bin?
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People don’t appreciate the consequences of littering (see Effects of litter)
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We live in throwaway society with a ‘snack culture’ and too much packaging
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It’s not cool to use a bin
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Litter keeps someone in a job
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People aren’t aware that some items are litter eg food, cigarette ends, chewing gum
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It’s OK to litter if no one can see you!
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It’s OK to litter if you are drunk!
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There aren’t enough bins
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The bins are in the wrong place
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The bins aren’t emptied often enough
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The bins aren’t big enough
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The bins are not suitable for disposing of dog mess or cigarette ends
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The bins are dirty
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There aren’t enough fines for littering
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One person can’t make a difference
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It’s rebellious and anti-authoritarian to litter (is it?)
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Fast food outlets don’t care about the litter associated with them
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Everybody does it!
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The Council aren’t doing their job properly
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There are much worse things in the world to worry about than litter .
How many of these reasons or excuses have you heard?
Litter is everyone’s problem, and there is never an excuse!