Earth Bytes: Lose the Litter

Christina Mitchell

They may be small, but cigarette butts, Styrofoam cups, pieces of paper and other trash make a difference to the planet. This week’s Earth Bytes looks at litter and a few things you can do to improve it.

The Facts:

• The US litters an estimated 180 million pounds of cigarette butts every year.
• Around 100,000 sea animals get tangled in or choke on plastic (soda can rings) every year.
• It costs $3 to remove one piece of gum from a sidewalk.
• A Styrofoam coffee cup can take up to a million years to biodegrade.
• About $10 million is spent every year to clean up roadside litter.

What you can do:

• Don’t throw cigarette butts out of the car. Less waste, less chance for fire.
• Cut up plastic soda rings before throwing them out.
• Pick up three pieces of trash along the sidewalk or road.
• Don’t litter period and save hundreds of dollars in fines.

For more litter facts, visit idealbite.com, ottawa.ca/city_services, or cigarettelitter.org.

Video

Earth Bytes Tackles Litter

They may be small, but cigarette butts, Styrofoam cups, pieces of paper and other trash make a difference to the planet. This week's Earth Bytes takes a look at the scary facts behind litter and the simple ways you can help clean up.

Jonathan Vigliotti