A study undertaken to find out about people’s littering habits is helping us plan our campaigns. Beaufort Research, an independent market and social research agency based in Cardiff, have spoken to people from across the whole of Wales in order to develop a better understanding of the people who litter, why they litter and what they perceive to be a clean environment. They have examined the regional, cultural and individual variations in littering – plus age and gender.
The Litter in Wales report aims to give a better understanding of people who litter and what they perceive to be a clean environment, and examines the attitudes of different social groups and regions of Wales towards litter.
Despite the fact that over half the Welsh population (56%) claim that there are no occasions when they feel it is acceptable to drop litter, half admit they have dropped at least one item of litter in the last year or more recently. Fruit and cigarette butts are the most likely to end up on our streets, with a quarter of Welsh people admitting to dropping these in the past year.
Litter is also perceived as having the most negative impact on the look and feel of communities, with dog fouling the most unpopular (78%), followed by drug litter (73%) and general litter (67%). Litter’s unpopularity is unsurprising given that three in five respondents across Wales report seeing litter regularly in their local area.
The report also looks at the excuses people give for littering. Half of litterers believe it to be excusable behaviour when in a hurry. A similar proportion believe throwing apple cores does not count as littering and think that there is no alternative but to stub out cigarette butts on the ground. A significant minority of litterers (between 19% and 25%) also say that if others around them were dropping litter they would too, and that if bins are full it is acceptable to drop litter.
Read more about the report by contacting our Local Environmental Quality team.
Is rubbish in your area getting on your nerves? Become a Litter Champion and look after where you live!
We are looking for enthusiastic individuals, who cannot commit to forming, or joining, a local community group, to help us to achieve our vision of a ‘Clean, Safe and Tidy Wales’. Is this you?
Keep Wales Tidy relies on the hard work, goodwill and dedication of its volunteers and by becoming a Litter Champion you can change the behaviour of those who act irresponsibly and inspire them to follow your example!
For more infomation download a copy of the Litter Champion Handbook