Litter isn’t just a problem in this country. Here are some interesting litter facts from around the world. As you can see there are lots of different ways that are being tried to stop litter being such a big problem.
Austria
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In one area video cameras were placed inside recycling banks to identify who was leaving their rubbish lying around at the recycling centres. Offenders were then fined and the problem stopped.
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In Vienna the horses pulling the popular horse carriages were fitted with ‘horse nappies’ to stop the 500kg of horse manure being dropped on the streets every day. This has saved 815,000 Euros a day in cleaning bills for the city.
Ireland
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In 2002 a 10p tax was introduced on all plastic carrier bags. Within 4 months the number of plastic bags in use had fallen by 90% and £6 million had been raised for environmental causes.
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Ireland has also taken strong action against people putting advertising leaflets under car windscreens – these have been banned since 2003.
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Promoters of large music and sport events are to be made responsible for limiting the amount of rubbish created and pay for its disposal.
Majorca
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Palma de Mallorca is a difficult city to collect rubbish in because of the narrow streets and number of residents. As a result the 28,000 residents have been given special cards to give them access to the computerised waste bins. The waste then disappears under the streets in 9.1km of underground pipes to be taken away for processing.
Singapore
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The sale of chewing gum was banned in 1991 because it had disrupted the rail service and caused such a nuisance at cinemas and other public places. Since 2003 it has been possible to buy chewing gum; but only on prescription from a doctor or dentist.
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They also have serious fines for littering. For a first offence you can be fined up to $1000 and for repeat offenders the fine increase to $2000 and some community work, such as litter picking.
Switzerland
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Zurich airport employs 240 people to clear up the 25,000 tonnes of litter dumped by passengers each year. Twelve staff are employed just to scrape up discarded chewing gum.
Jackson, USA
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In 1998 a new law was passed in stating that for a first littering offence a fine of $200 would be issued and the individual would have to carryout at least 14 hours of litter picking duties.
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For a second offence the fine increases to $500 and you will be required to carry out at least 40 hours of litter picking.
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Any person who reports information resulting in a conviction for littering will receive a reward of $100, taken from the fines issued.