Litter is what we call trash when it ends up outside a bin or landfill.
Litter is bad for animals and people. Plastic waste suffocates, disables and kills thousands of animals each year. Litter is dirty and spoils our environment.
TOXIC FOOD
Turtles, seals, birds and dolphins often mistake plastic waste for food. Plastic bags floating in the water can look like jellyfish, for example. After animals eat plastic, their intestines get blocked and their normal food can’t be digested properly. If they eat too much plastic, their stomachs always feel full, so they don’t eat anything else. Eventually they can starve to death. Plastic also contains lots of nasty chemicals that can posion animals and cause internal injuries. In India, 20 cows die every day because they have eaten plastic bags; and most sea birds on the planet already have some plastic pieces in their stomachs. The chemicals in the plastic eaten by fish and other animals are passed up the food chain to other creatures, and even to humans.
ALL TANGLED UP
Animals often get entangled in plastic bags. This means they can suffocate, starve or drown. It also makes it easier for predators to catch them. Plastic bags constrict an animal’s movement which means they can get exhausted, or sometimes develop an infection from wounds caused by material wrapped around them. Plastic packaging can sink to the ocean floor, get wrapped around and smother coral reefs. Inland, plastic blocks drains, allowing mosquitoes to breed and spread dengue fever.
BAD FOR US
Litter makes the beach look dirty. Sharp objects like broken glass can cut your feet. Because of this, there may be fewer visitors and local people will have less income from tourism.
WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?
1. ALWAYS put your trash in the bin. If there is no bin, hold on to it until you find one.
2. Say NO to plastic bags, bottles, straws and spoons in shops. Carry a cloth bag and reusable bottle with you to use instead.
3. Become a TRASH HERO and pick up any litter you see lying around
95 comments
Join the conversationWaste Management: Engaging Youth Through Modern Solutions – Hummingbag - 24/04/2018
[…] to help an Octopus prevent plastic pollution from harming sea life; to tackling questions such as ‘Why is litter important?’ or ‘What can I do to help?’; to out-of-the-box educational project collaborations with local schools and hands-on clean-up […]
Justin Hone - 21/05/2020
this is great it help me with my asiment
Queen d - 03/03/2021
This is also helping me with my school assignment.
Lisa - 30/03/2021
Yeah same
pickle green juice - 08/02/2022
yea it is helping me a lot with my assignment
Kason - 15/11/2022
This helps me for school
roy the boy0908 - 16/01/2024
love this thank you so much pls put more of this content thanks this really helped with my assignment
roy the boy0908 - 16/01/2024
yea ik right?!!!
elina - 15/04/2021
me to
Wolfie - 16/04/2021
Omg same tho
roman reighns - 06/04/2022
same because im doing trash
brianna - 03/05/2021
stop litter
Wolfie - 16/04/2021
Omg same tho
madison callahan - 27/04/2021
yes it is
Harrison Welsch - 03/05/2021
Yeah, I think this is great for school assignments!
damo - 15/09/2021
this also helped me with my assignment
roman reighns - 06/04/2022
same because im doing trash on schoolgy
aaaaaaaaaaaa - 31/01/2022
same (continue the chain guys)
Nathan Johnson - 22/04/2022
assignment*
Eddie - 18/10/2022
Thank u so much too
Ryen scott-willardson - 03/02/2021
this helped me so much on my assignment
Prtomos - 02/11/2021
This helped me with my Persuasive Essay
i LOVE SEALS - 19/04/2023
seals are funkin amazing
Sara VG - 21/04/2023
Litter is so bad 🙁
Gerson - 18/01/2019
Can I join your group?
Lia - 07/02/2019
I want to be part of this.
Shafana - 23/05/2019
Believe in yourself
Luis - 17/04/2019
I enjoyed reading the artical.
Mimi - 29/05/2019
Thanks! This really helped with one of my assessments. 🙂
gerardo - 29/05/2019
It has lots of information.
Aston SHABU - 23/10/2019
This is a great information
jasmine - 27/10/2019
I like this article it was amazing!!!
Jasmine - 27/10/2019
I loved this article it was amazing!!!
Jasmine - 27/10/2019
sorry if I typed it two times…
olivia - 24/03/2022
It’s ok
kaleena - 27/01/2020
xoxo loved this
Amani - 05/02/2020
Thanks, this helped with my Pd.8 Communications project!
Jin - 28/02/2020
I loved this article because it really can help the people who litter turn into picking up plastic
Yasmine Mccarthy - 03/08/2020
Yeah, true, but this only gives a few reasons, but it is still great.
Jayden - 07/04/2020
That was the best lesson about littering ever. And how to be a Hero and pick it up.
hafsa - 20/04/2020
cool
Mia - 12/05/2020
Poor animals, I didn’t know plastic could be so fatal!
Bobby - 28/05/2020
this is good for speech research
Causes, Effects and Solutions for Littering - E&C - 30/05/2020
[…] https://trashhero.org/de/blog/why-is-litter-a-problem/ […]
sabin - 01/08/2020
I like your artical poor animals can I join your group
Emilia - 21/09/2020
Amazing stuff, these animals can be happy if this article gets around. I will share it with people so they can see your amazing article (Hopefully they will also be able to donate)
Davi - 21/09/2020
Amazing stuff, these animals can be happy if this article gets around. I will share it with people so they can see your amazing article (Hopefully they will also be able to donate)
Rahel Schaub - 22/09/2020
Thank you for your support!
Dabi - 21/09/2020
Wow I find this amazing thank you so much, I will spread the word
Personal Tradelines - 01/02/2021
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Jo - 01/02/2021
I WILL SPREAD THIS AND I WILL EVEN WRITE ABOUT IT
Luna - 26/02/2021
SAME!!!
Elizabeth - 16/03/2021
SAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shannon Tattersfield - 23/02/2021
This really helped me with my essay! I can’t donate, but I’ll share this with friends!
Luna - 26/02/2021
This was a big help with my Opinion paper in school! I am including this in my paper, as in, the website, with link, in it.
Xana - 08/03/2021
This is going to help me A LOT with my paper!!
Xana - 08/03/2021
This is going to help me A LOT with my paper!!!!!
Elizabeth - 16/03/2021
SAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No one should litter – Arnav's sight - 31/03/2021
[…] Source 2 https://trashhero.org/why-is-litter-a-problem/#:~:text=Litter%20is%20dirty%20and%20spoils%20our%20en… […]
Josh - 19/04/2021
This is a wholesome and great chat, very helpful for educating people about littering.
dawson lee hunt - 27/04/2021
this helps me
Bristol - 28/04/2021
I love this website and I will spread this to all my friends
Harrison Welsch - 03/05/2021
I think this is a great website for helping kids with school assignments!
jaxon - 07/12/2021
Same! It can definitely help us!
dreamspeedrun - 03/05/2021
school project lol
im a trash goblin
faizan - 11/06/2021
this is awesome but can you add more please
One Wrapper a Life, Another a Threat to the Planet | Waterloo Region School Food Gardens - 28/07/2021
[…] https://trashhero.org/why-is-litter-a-problem/ (picture) […]
damo - 22/09/2021
this help me with my school project
Rebekah Wang - 14/11/2021
I save animals from trash:HERO
pickle green juice - 08/02/2022
yea it is helping me a lot with my assignment
Izz - 15/03/2022
This is a really great extract and helped me with my school assignment! I am sharing this with all my friends Good luck everyone!
Riley Thomas Weber - 16/03/2022
This article is really helpful.
Rosie - 28/03/2022
YEAH this is good for my essay
Rosie - 28/03/2022
I really hope this STOPS and people get aressted for littering
Rosalie Saxton - 28/03/2022
those animals that are eating trash right now must be starving to death! We really have to stop that and get people to Pay for what they’d done!
Nathan - 22/04/2022
This is good because it cannot get into our reservoirs and effect the wata dat we drink
AnnaBeth - 25/04/2022
We did an Earth Day assignment where a bunch of QR codes were on a piece of paper and they had to scan them and do an essay on that website….It was sooooooo much FUN!!!
AnnaBeth - 25/04/2022
Also over 1,000 animals are being killed each day because of this!
Plus polar bears are being very misunderstood not because of this but because polar ice caps are melting!!!
Cool goliath - 26/10/2022
That’s sad
ruheena - 08/11/2022
ZAMBOOZLE!! That is a great idea! I am going to write a letter to the government to clean all this trash so there would be no more litter. I am going to make posters and signs so everyone can help and Pisilla and Abigail, here I come to clean the earth and help animals!!
Ruheena - 10/11/2022
I think no littering can be a really good idea! littering can be a problem for animals and people. I will go ahead and write a letter to the government to clean up all this trash. Pissilla and Abigail, here I come!!
Ruheena - 10/11/2022
AnnaBeth, can you be an earth hero to save the animals? I saw so much trash in the playground like A LOT!! We have to stop the people and make them pay whoever has done this! And guess what! earth villians are ready to come and kill animals and litter! Lets be earth heros to save the earth. Lets go!!
#19 Teach Your Children Not to Litter – FamilyFirstNJA - 17/11/2022
[…] Seera. Why is Litter a Problem? Trash Hero World. (2018). https://trashhero.org/why-is-litter-a-problem/ […]
Liam - 26/12/2022
This really helped in my essay Ty soo much!
Lydia - 03/01/2023
That’s great! We’re so glad it helped you 🙂
sad for otter - 03/01/2023
sooooo sad for otter
sad for otter - 03/01/2023
sooooo sad for otter 1234
fatima - 08/01/2023
This helps me a lot with my speech.
sad for people on beaches - 19/04/2023
great for school project, so sad for otter
i LOVE SEALS - 19/04/2023
I funkin love seals
i LOVE SEALS - 19/04/2023
SEALS ARE FUNKING AMAZING
i LOVE SEALS - 19/04/2023
SEALS ARE SO GOD DAM COOl
Damian - 29/11/2023
I feel so bad for the otter L in chat for otter
roy the boy0908 - 16/01/2024
love this thank you so much pls put more of this content thanks this really helped with my assignment
Caroline - 27/03/2024
Like everyone else, I used this for a school assignment; this article helped a lot! My thanks to every party involved in the creation of this article for giving us students a great resource to help spread awareness!