Providing The World’s Litter Data Empowering people to create a cleaner planet by turning information into actionable insight.
Reusability is important because it plays a major role in keeping our local environments cleaner and healthier. Think of all the products you use on a daily basis that are single use and then thrown away. You may use cotton swabs, floss, plastic cups, paper plates, plastic or paper bags, individual food wrappers, plastic utensils, and many others. When you're done using these products they are thrown in landfills where they sit to decompose for the hundreds of years. This is an issue because there are several risks when it is sitting in the landfill. First, it could get blown out of the landfill and end up littering the surrounding areas. Second, as the product decomposes it will leech harmful chemicals into the ground thus increasing chances of ground water contamination, and third, it could lead to the landfill overfilling.
The great thing is almost all of these single use products are available in multi-use versions. Think how much better it would be if instead of getting plastic bags every time you go to the grocery store that inevitable get stuffed into older plastic bags or are thrown into landfills. You could use the same five reusable bags every time. This would also help save your wallet. With more people using reusable bags stores wouldn't have to spend as much buying these single use bags instead they could pass savings onto their customers in the form of lower prices. When you use single use bags you are also paying for them through the products you buy.
Litter is far from just being unpleasant to look at, but it also has severe negative consequences on our environment. When litter gets into our natural environments it can wreak havoc. Many animals can mistake pieces of litter as potential food. You have likely heard of all the plastic in the ocean that ends up killing millions of animals yearly (Persus). By reducing our amount of litter, we can also reduce the amount of sea life kill off. However, this issue affects those far from the oceans as well. Plastic in lakes and stream can have the same negative effects. Plastic can severely harm animals through consumption or through chemical leeching that occurs when these products begin decomposing in those waters.
Picking up litter is one of the easiest things that we as individuals can do to help the environment. It only takes a few seconds to make a real difference that matters. Cleaning litter will give you satisfaction in knowing that no natural ecosystems will be harmed by that piece of litter. By you removing that litter you also remove the chances for animal consuming it and you can prevent potentially toxic chemicals from that piece of litter leeching harmful chemicals into our natural ecosystems. Cleaning litter is also one of the easiest and quickest ways to boost your own confidence. Take pride in knowing youre making the world a better place for you and your community.
There are two huge issues we face in relation to water. The first issue were facing related to is water pollution. Waterways are becoming increasingly more polluted. They are being polluted by litter, and by pesticides and yard waste. Litter is putting toxins in our water and pesticides are starving many aquatic animals of the nutrients they need to survive. The pollutants are creating major health issues for the ecosystems and the people that use them.
The second issue we face is the amount of fresh drinking water we have and the amount of water we use. Although 70% of our world is covered in water only 2.5% of that water is actually fresh water (Nat Geo). Our amount of fresh water looks even smaller when we consider that water is meant to sustain 7.8 billion of us here on earth. Throughout our day to day lives it's going to becoming increasingly important that you recognize the need to conserve water. It's estimated by the USGS that in the United States we use roughly 80-100 gallons of water per day. Considering that an average person to survive needs only 1.3 gallons we waste much more water than is necessary. It's important that we do all we can to conserve and responsibly use this water because we are only a few years away from losing access to all of it. Turn off the faucet when you're not using it, try to take more showers than baths, and limit your time in the shower.
Conserving electricity is important for the environment in that is helps reduce environmental impacts by using less energy. Irresponsible use of electricity leads to unnecessary consumption of primary energies. In the United States those primary energies are typically in the form of fossil fuels being petroleum, natural gas, or coal based. When electricity is produced using these primary energy sources, we see incredibly negative effects in our ecosystems. Notably in the form of increased carbon dioxide. When you leave the lights on, use dryers over clothesline, leave the ice machine on, or leave appliances on or plugged in while not in use you are responsible for those energies being used. If that's not enough to convince you consider the money you can save from being electrically efficient. Appliances count for roughly 10% of your electric use, even if they're not on they can still draw power. It's estimated the average household can save nearly $100 a year by simply unplugging when not in use. Using LED bulbs can save nearly $75 a year (USA Today). There are so many easy ways to save money when it comes to electricity and it's also great for the environment.