Litter Study Shows Hope. No more litter in the US by 2030?

Keep America Beautiful 2020 National Litter Study

TOP LINE RESULTS 

As the nation’s largest community improvement organization fighting litter since 1953, Keep America Beautiful® is pleased to report topline results of our landmark 2020 “Litter in America” study as a follow up to our 2009 study and litter research established in 1969. 

  1. 90% of Americans agree litter is a problem in their community.

  1. Roadside litter is down 54% in the past decade.

  1. There are still 50 billion pieces of litter on the ground in America.

Our role in educating and inspiring individuals to take action to improve their community environment plays an important part in these results.  Reduction in cigarette litter is down 50% in areas where we have implemented our Cigarette Litter Prevention Program.  Our national education programs result in billions of impressions with litter, recycling, and community beautification messaging.  Our affiliates engage millions of volunteers and participants in KAB programs like the Great American Cleanup® and America Recycles Day®.  Simply stated, we know our programs work – the results speak for themselves.  

OVER THE PAST DECADE THE KAB NETWORK HAS: 

  • Mobilized 10’s of millions of volunteers and participants.

  • Picked up over half a BILLION pounds of litter and debris.

  • Recycled over 250M pounds of materials.

  • Cleaned over half a million miles of roads, trails, and along waterways.

  • Planted millions of trees, flowers, and bulbs.

Although this impact is impressive and a 54% reduction in roadside litter is promising, there is still a long way to go. With this information we can quantify (this mess) that every American needs to pick up 152 pieces of litter to “do their part.”  

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The 2020 Keep America Beautiful Litter Study is the most comprehensive study of litter in America. It is a follow up to the landmark 2009 study, which builds on a history of science-based litter research started by Keep America Beautiful in 1969.

  1. The study uses world class methodology and is led by academics, professional social scientists, and leading researchers with the support of corporate America, foundations, and individuals.

  2. The study follows a multi-method approach looking at both quantitative and qualitative data composed of four components: Observed Litter, Littering Behavior, Attitudes About Litter, and the Cost of Litter.

This Earth Day, Keep America Beautiful encourages all individuals to pick-up 152 pieces of litter. Why 152? According to the latest Litter in America Study, if everyone made the individual action of picking up 152 pieces of litter (all at once) there would be no litter on the ground until someone littered again. #152andyou 

152. That’s the amount of litter each person in America needs to pick up to make our nation a litter-free place. Join the 152 Challenge with Keep America Beautiful this Earth Day. #152andyou 

Read complete article article at https://kab.org/litterstudy/

Opinion:

Wow…all these years, I had thought that making the country clean was such a big task (OK - it is). It’s possible though and by combining the right Leave No Trace Ethic, doing regular cleanup activities like #Trashtag and Plogging, and plus local cleanups on Earth Day and World CleanUp Day - there is a solution.

Join me in asking the entire outdoor community to pickup 152 pieces of litter…the sooner the better.

James H. Moss, J.D.

James H. Moss, J.D.