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Facts about littering

Littering Statistics and Facts

More than two million pieces of litter are dropped in the UK daily. That’s an incredible amount of rubbish disposed of irresponsibly. Each bit adds up and has a hugely negative impact on the environment and wildlife. In some cases, it means valuable reusable resources and materials are lost too.

Litter refers to dropping drink cans, bottles, food packaging, cigarette butts, paper, and other bits of rubbish in public places. It’s incredibly unsightly, can attract pests, and cause potential health hazards. Items of litter can even make their way into our oceans as marine litter, which is a big global issue.

To understand how damaging litter is to the environment and why tackling it is important to protect the planet, we’ve pulled together some shocking littering statistics. Discover the scale of the problem across the UK and the wider world with these facts and statistics about littering.

What is littering?

Littering is the act of making somewhere (usually an open space or public place) untidy by dropping one or more pieces of rubbish and leaving it there. This could be something small like an empty crisp packet or aluminium drinks can. It may also involve leaving a large number of waste objects behind.

There are many sources of litter. Pedestrians may drop rubbish on city streets and footpaths, motorists sometimes chuck litter out of their vehicle windows when driving, and people litter when leaving behind leftovers after a picnic or at a public event. All litter is unsightly and can harm the environment and wildlife.

Littering isn’t the same as fly-tipping. The difference between littering and fly-tipping is that dropping litter usually means leaving behind a few or many bits of small rubbish pieces associated with eating, drinking, and smoking. Fly-tipping refers to illegally dumping household, industrial, or commercial waste in inappropriate places, such as parks and fields.

litter on a street.

Litter statistics

The facts and figures for global littering are astounding. Countries such as Japan and Singapore have effectively clamped down on littering but litter statistics from other parts of the globe show there’s still a mountain of work to tackle the problem. Here are some staggering statistics about littering from around the world:

  • About 70% of litter is food wrappers and packaging
  • Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world – 5 trillion cigarette butts are littered around the world every year
  • Nine billion tonnes of litter ends up in the oceans across the planet each year
  • Animals most affected by litter in the world are all sea creatures – fish, whales, turtles, and dolphins – and more than 100,000 die annually after consuming or becoming entangled in plastic litter
  • Around 60% of global water pollution is linked to littering
  • There could already be more than 150 million tonnes of plastic litter in the world’s oceans – by 2050 there may be more plastic than fish in the planet’s seas
  • It’s estimated that more than 40% of global litter is burned in the open air, which releases toxic emissions
  • Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a boom in PPE-related litter with 207 million PPE gloves and masks littering roadways and waterways in the USA
  • Littering in the USA creates more than 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year – that’s like adding another 10 million cars on the road
  • There are more than 25 billion bits of litter along waterways in the USA – and over 23 billion pieces of litter alongside US roadways
  • Strict waste management laws and cultural practices mean there’s barely any littering in Japan

Facts about litter 
in the UK

Litter in the UK is an ongoing issue that harms our streets, environment, and wallets – cleaning up costs the country millions. There are laws and penalties in place to discourage dropping litter but the figures for litter in the UK show it’s still a huge problem. See the scale of the issue with these UK littering statistics and facts:

  • Cleaning up litter from UK streets (excluding parks and public places) costs British taxpayers £500 million every year
  • Scotland spends about £46 million annually to clean up litter
  • According to the Marine Conservation Society, 1,963 pieces of litter are collected per kilometre along the UK’s coastline
  • Surveys found that 48% of people in the UK admit to dropping litter – plenty more probably dare not own up
  • Every weekend around 3 million bits of litter are dropped on UK roads by motorists
  • Half a million pieces of litter enter oceans from UK rivers each year
  • Keep Britain Tidy found after smoking-related rubbish that confectionery packs, soft drink bottles and cans, and fast-food-related packaging made up the most litter
  • Authorised officers can issue a fixed penalty charge of up to £150 for a litter offence – prosecutions and convictions in court could lead to a maximum fine of £2,500
  • In England, across 2021/22 there were 09 million fly-tipping incidents recorded
  • 61% of all fly-tipping incidents involved household waste

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