With every municipality in the Province and the entire country full of more people than ever before, it is also more important to properly dispose of garbage and trash than ever before too. Nearly every topic that we talk about with our blog here at Load and Lift is related to waste disposal in some way or another, and today we’re talking it down to the lowest common denominator with talking about what people do – or don’t do – to dispose of their litter and why people are inclined to do what they do with it, good or bad.
A bit of long ways off from talking about disposal bin rentals for Trenton and Colborne, but we can still frame the two topics in the same blog entry if we get creative. Or not. But for now let’s have a look at this because the huge problem with littering isn’t just a problem in Toronto or Hamilton here in Ontario, and other Provinces will say the same thing for locales that aren’t their big cities.
We all need to be better with not littering, although there are some people out there that genuinely never even do it once. If you’re one of them we tip our hat to your being a very civically-responsible citizen in that regard, and with that said let’s get into this topic
Starts with Manufacturers
Around the 1950s manufacturers started producing a higher volume of litter-generating products and packaging made of materials like plastic. Much of what led to the start of littering being common behaviour was because the mean of having litter was put into people’s hands. Incidences of littering grew swiftly in the next few decades after that, and the problem is that as it continues it steadily contributes to air pollution, land pollution and ocean pollution.
The fact that 8 million tons of plastic waste finds its way into our oceans every year is disturbing, but what we do is make sure that job site waste around here goes into one of our Colborne and Trenton dumpster rentals and being Ontario nothing gets anywhere near the sea to begin with. Back on track, these littering facts aim to shed light on what littering is, why people litter, how litter affects the environment and what any one person can do to end littering and promote others to do the same.
Littering Happens
Littering is the improper disposal of waste products. It can be done mistakenly, like with an unsecured object flying out the back of a truck bed or something similar), but by and large littering is done deliberately. And what are the most commonly littered items? Here is a list of them, and you can go ahead and assume this is equally true of Canada and the USA in the same way:
- Fast food packaging
- Food packaging
- Alcoholic beverage containers
- Tire and vehicle debris
- Plastic bags
- Plastic bottles
- Construction waste*
(make sure yours ends up in a CFB Trenton dumpster rental from Load n’ Lift!)
But the most frequently littered item is also the most pathetic of all of them. Smoking cigarettes is downright stupid to begin with, but in the USA and estimated 9.7 billion cigarette butts are discarded along roadways and waterways every year, and it is a huge problem here in Canada too.
Another one that is really disturbing (and equally pathetic depending on who you talk to) is the way that since early 2020 one of the most littered items across the whole world has been PPE masks. It’s estimated that well over 200 million of them and counting have been carelessly thrown to land wherever they may, and again you can be darn sure many of them have ended up in the ocean.
Why People Litter
There have been studies done on this, and apparently why people litter comes down to 4 primary reasons.
- Laziness or carelessness
- No trash receptacles immediately available
- Lack of municipal bylaw enforcement around littering
- Other litter already being in the area
People who litter out of laziness or carelessness often believe that someone else will come along and pick up the litter after them and then do proper disposal of it. Others may not have been educated on the impact of littering and therefore litter because they don’t know it causes harm, while still others may live in an area where littering is an accepted part of the culture.
Litter Causes Pollution
Chemicals and microparticles are released when litter degrades over time if it is not collected. Unfortunately a lot of litter makes its way into areas in and around civic infrastructure where it’s out of view and therefore no one picks it up ever. Litter that is washed down storm drains is hugely problematic for obvious reasons.
Cigarette butts can contain chemicals such as arsenic and formaldehyde. These poisons can make their way into the soil and freshwater sources, which negatively impacts both humans and animals. There are estimates that 60% of water pollution is attributed to litter. Researchers also estimate that more than 40% of the world’s litter is burned in the open air, which also release toxic emissions.
Definitely don’t litter, and if you need a dumpster rental in Trenton or Colborne be sure to get in touch with our front desk people here at Load n’ Lift. Canadian Military and Families receive a 5% discount on all bin rentals, and we also have big discounts for Senior citizens. We want to be the provider you call EVERY time you need a disposal bin rental around here.