It Costs Money
It Costs Money
Cleaning up litter costs a lot of money! In Australia, the government can spend up to $1 billion dollars on picking up litter. And, in Queensland alone, we spend up to $20 million dollars. If the litter wasn't there then the money can be used for other environmental projects!
It Harms our Waterways
It Harms our Waterways
Litter can harm water systems in two ways. First, organic litter such as dog poo and grass clippings can change the water quality. Second, inorganic litter (like plastic) can cause blockages in water systems and travel through creeks and rivers to end up in oceans.
It Harms Wildlife
It Harms Wildlife
The most harmful litter item is plastic. Plastic takes up to 1000 years to break up and even then, it breaks into tiny pieces called microplastics. In both forms, wildlife can mistake plastic for food. This occurs a lot with ocean animals such as sea turtles that can die from plastic ingestion.