Litter Studies

Litter can be any type of material or product that hasn't been disposed of properly. It can be found on our streets, parks, beaches, schoolyards, etc. It can be an item that was carelessly tossed aside or overflowing bins or waste receptacles.  

There are many studies on the types of debris that generally make up litter. These studies help litter fighting organizations because they can help to determine which products/packaging are more likely to be littered and which types of marketing/public awareness programs would best help to eradicate litter.  

Studies available from this web site include:  

• Canadian cities 
• Canadian coasts 
• European case study

In addition, there are other studies that focus on the behaviour associated with littering. For example, a recent study done by the City of Toronto found that most people surveyed identified laziness as the number one factor in why people litter. To view the study, click here.

Canadian cities  

The City of Toronto recently completed a 2006 Streets Litter Audit, which also includes comparative figures for similar audits done in 2005 and in previous years.

For the full report, please click here.  

 

Some of the most prominent small litter items were: chewing gum (30.9%), paper (17.3%), glass (15.4%) and cigarette butts (14.8%).  It's interesting to note that these four items account for more than 78% of all small litter. 

Region of Peel (Including Mississauga and Brampton):

For the full report, click here.

Regional Municipality of York:

For the full report, click here.

A roadside litter audit, done by a maritime province, looked at 45 locations with an equal number of urban and rural areas. It found that food containers represented 36%, confectionery 9%, beverages 7% and containers (such as cigarette packs, juice boxes, plastic bags, etc.) 6%. Uncategorized items – which included cardboard, paper, plastic, glass, polystyrene, cloth, metal, construction and demolition debris, car parts and garbage bags – represented 42%.  

 

Canadian coasts  

Canadian clean-up activities conducted on beaches in the lower mainland of British Columbia, Vancouver Island, Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Lake Ontario revealed that plastic, metal, glass, paper, rubber and cloth were the primary littered materials. The top items of coastal debris found world-wide in 64 countries were cigarette butts, plastic pieces, food bags and wrappers, glass pieces, caps/lids, paper pieces, beverage bottles, straws, beverage cans and bottle caps.  

For the full report, please click here.  

European case study  

A survey of five European cities found that the top five items of litter were cigarette butts and matchsticks, pieces of paper, sweet wrappers and bits of plastics. Coastwatch Europe, which collects data about coastal litter and pollution, found that there were over 60 items of packaging litter found at each of some 10,000 sites. These included cans, cartons, bags and bottles, as well as cigarette butts, matches and newspapers. Pollutants like sewage, oil and tar were also present.