Waste in Its Place Campaign

Waste In Its Place Campaign

The Waste In Its Place Campaign will have school activities as well as feeder pattern activities.

School Activities:

• Poster and Essay contests
• Public Service announcement videos for middle and senior high schools
• Community service hours to be awarded to middle and senior high school students
• Weekly morning announcements
• Student recognition program i.e. Litterbug Spotter Program - 1 student per school, per month may be recognized at monthly Town Hall meetings, etc.
• Clean Sweep Competitions by grade level for middle and senior high school students

Region/ Feeder Pattern Activities:

• Identify one day of the week for litter collection by Region feeder patterns; i.e. Trash Tuesday
• Schedule clean-up day activities throughout the year that focus on encouraging civic and community responsibilities
• Highlight litter collection activities of each of the feeder patterns in various community expositions such as Curriculum Expo’s, etc.

Weekly Announcements

Week 1

What is litter?It simply is trash put in the wrong place, in a place where it doesn't belong.

Trash belongs in any number of places - in the garbage can, in the recycling bin, in a reuse facility, at the sanitary landfill or the waste-to-energy plant. Where it does not belong is on the ground, in the rivers or oceans or blowing in the air.

Week 2

MYTH:Only "certain types" of people litter.

FACT:"Litterbugs" can be found among people of every age, sex, race and ethnic origin, at every level of society and in all geographic locations

Week 3

Litter kills or injures animals. Many small animals crawl into bottles or jars and get stuck and slowly starve to death. Animals get caught in plastic six pack rings, plastic bags, fishing line and a multitude of throwaways. Birds that are stuck can’t fly away from danger. Sometimes animals caught in six pack rings are strangled as they grow too big for the opening. Animals get cut, infected and die. Every year, millions of birds, fish and animals die from litter.

Week 4

MYTH:Litter doesn't hurt anyone.

FACT:Litter is a safety hazard. Litter is a breeding ground for fire and disease.

FACT:Litter impacts car insurance rates because thousands of auto accidents are litter-related.

FACT:Ingesting litter causes injury or death to thousands of pets, wild and farm animals.

FACT:Litter is a breeding ground for rats and disease-causing bacteria.

Week 5

MYTH:Littering only occurs when there is no Trash Can.

FACT:Most Littering occurs within 6 yards from a Trash Can.

Week 6

MYTH:Most everything is recycled now.

FACT:Beverage containers comprise 40-60% of litter. The Solid Waste Coordinators of Kentucky found that 58% of litter collected consisted of beverage containers, pull-tabs, and closures.

FACT:Curbside recycle bins are still not available to 50% of the American population.

FACT:Curbside recycle bins do not address away-from-home consumption.

FACT:Tripling of curbside recycle bins has not stemmed the tide of waste.

Week 7

MYTH:None of my friends litter.

FACT:One half (1/2) of litter is deliberate and one half (1/2) is caused by materials being “accidentally” lost from vehicles.

FACT:Males do 72% of deliberate littering and are responsible for 96% of accidental littering.

FACT:69% of deliberate litterers were accompanied by one or more people.

FACT:60% of deliberate littering is done by pedestrians and 40% is done by motorists.

FACT:Composition of highway litter is as follows: 59% paper, 16% cans, 6% bottles, 6% plastic, 13% miscellaneous.

FACT:One mile of highway contains approximately 16,000 pieces of litter (estimated cost of pickup is 30 cents per piece of litter).

WEEK 8

Littering Statistics

Percent of people who have admitted to littering in the past five years / 75%
Percent of all littered items that are cigarette butts / 50%
Total amount of litter that is dumped into the ocean every year / 9 billion tons
Total annual amount spent on cleaning up litter yearly / $11.5 billion
Average amount of steps a person will hold a piece of trash before they litter / 12 paces
Total amount of trash is generated each year in the U.S. / 250 million

WEEK 9

Most Common Objects Used in Littering Statistics

Fast Food Waste / 33%
Paper / 29%
Aluminum / 28%
Glass / 6%
Plastic / 2%
Other / 2%

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