Littering the Streets

LITTERING THE STREETS HARRIET

SLATER

Litter; waste materials such as paper, cans, and bottles left lying in an open or public place.

Litter is not appealing to the eye; it turns our beauty sports into places of decay. Leaving litter on the ground and in public spaces is harmful to the environment and the wildlife which surrounds us. I found going on walks was a time to escape the harsh reality of today, however I found myself noticing rubbish gathering between bushes and under cars. I was shocked that this was becoming a normal observation and wanted to capture how much I have collected and recycled from outings and making this zine. I am hoping to raise awareness of the damage which is done by leaving litter on the ground.

Cleaning up litter from the streets of Britain costs taxpayers around £500 million. That does not include the amount it costs to clean up parks and other public spaces.

The amount of litter dropped each year in the UK has increased by a massive 500% since the 1960s.

7 out of every 10 items of discarded litter is food packaging or wrappers.

Littering Facts

The rat population has increased to 60 million due to the increasing amounts of litter.

Around 122 tons of cigarette butts and cigarette-related litter is dropped every day across the UK.

We all know that litter is a blight on our coastlines, and according to the Marine Conservation Society, around 1,963 pieces of litter are collected per kilometre by their litter pickers along our coastline.

Orange peel and banana skins up to 2 years to degrade

Cigarette butts take up to 2 years to decompose

10 to 20 years is long long it will take plastic bags degrade naturally

Biodegradability

All types of litter take time to degrade, so the ideal thing is not to drop it in the first place. Here is the average time it takes for some commonly discarded litter to decompose.

Aluminium cans last up to 80-100 years

Tins can last around 50 years in the environment

Plastic bottles can last forever

by HARRIET SLATEr Instagram - @harrietslater_photo

Facts and Stats courtesy of https://www.litterbins.co.uk