Litter refers to small pieces of rubbish that have been left lying on the ground in public places. It can include anything from a crisp packet, glass bottle or cigarette butt to a bag of rubbish. Many of Keep Britain Tidy’s volunteers regularly find ‘retro rubbish’ that was dropped many years ago but is still causing harm to our environment today, releasing greenhouse gases as it slowly breaks down in our soil and water, which contributes to the climate crisis.
The good news is that litter-picking is a simple action that anyone can do. It makes an immediate and visible difference to the environment where we live, work and play. In fact, around 95% of people surveyed after 2023’s campaign agreed they felt they had made a difference to their local area, and 91% said they felt part of a national movement that is taking action to tackle litter.
Some shocking facts about litter:
- Many animals can get sick because of the litter we drop. They can get tangled up in it or they can eat it which causes them to become very poorly and/ or die.
- There could already be 150 million tonnes of plastic litter in the world’s oceans. That’s the same weight as 25 million large elephants.
- If we don’t do something about reducing the amount of litter in our environment, by 2050 there could be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans!
- 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans every year.
- Plastic injures over 600 species of animals that live in and by the sea.
- It can take hundreds or even thousands of years for plastic to start to break down and break into smaller parts. Small bits of plastic called microplastics, end up in the sea and are eaten by fish.