From Guest Blogger Ruth Walker: The Environmental Price of Litter

Most of us have been guilty of dropping litter at some point in our lives and have probably thought it didn’t make much difference in the greater scheme of things. However, if you consider that there are almost 66 million people in the UK then you can see how the problem could easily get out of hand.

Research by finance experts Money Guru shows that 62% of the population will throw litter away at some point, but only 28% admit to it.

Over 38 million plastic bottles used in the UK every day, however only half of these are recycled, the other half end up in our rivers, oceans and in the ever-growing mountain of land fill.

Not only does litter cause a health hazard by encouraging rodents it also encourages anti-social behaviour and poor general health in the local populace. Indeed, it has been shown that areas of high littering are most often areas of concern for local authorities.

Our oceans have enormous floating islands of rubbish made up of plastic and other non-biodegradable substances. These leach toxins into the environment and can also enter the human food chain through ingestion by fish caught for human consumption.

Some countries are introducing high penalties and fines for littering with Singapore recently fining a smoker £10,000 for throwing a cigarette butt away. This might seem ridiculous but there are more than 200 million cigarette butts thrown away every day in the UK alone, a staggering amount. That does not take into account the cigarette packets and lighters that are tossed away too.

So, perhaps it is time to take heed and give a little thought to what we purchase, how it is packaged and how we dispose of that packaging before we pollute the environment and its inhabitants beyond redemption.

Price of Litter Infographic, courtesy of Moneyguru.com