The Beginning
During the summer of 2011, a group of students started picking up litter in different neighborhoods weekly. Each volunteer wore a t-shirt that read, “I Hate Trash.” As they moved areas, residents would help by picking up their own trash. By August, the group had signed up over 500 volunteers, making an extreme difference in the community. This group, known as The LitterBugz, started in the business school at The University of Toledo. As a dedicated and local organization, The LitterBugz work to help keep Toledo clean, and help small, locally owned, businesses.
Litter: Facts and Prevention
People litter. Once on the ground, litter attracts more litter. In otherwords, the more litter on the ground, the more likely more people are to litter in that location. Although some companies and organizations are paid to remove waste from collection areas, no one person gets paid to pick up an individual’s litter wherever they go.
People can prevent and reverse the effects of litter. Research and studies have proven that litter is the result of individual behavior. People choose to litter and are careless in the handling of waste. Once litter is on the ground, it attracts even more litter. A clean community, by contrast, can discourage littering and improve community appearance and quality of life.
According to The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, “Litter consists of waste products such as containers, papers, and wrappers which have been disposed of improperly. Once litter has accumulated, it invites people to add more.”
Two Main Reasons Why People Litter?
Through extensive research and experience, The Litterbugz has found the two most common reasons people litter;
- Inadequate disposal containers or trashcans
- Being careless of their surrounding environment
These two reasons describe the most important factors that lead to littering. The purpose of The LitterBugz is to increase recycle awareness, which would urge citizens to care about the surrounding environment. In the future, our hope is to provide trash and cigarette butt disposals, while educating the youth, to try and eliminate the act of littering entirely!
