Pick of the bunch: communities and litter

by Sophie Crossette

If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that litter’s a bad thing, right? Yet the most recent Local Environmental Quality Survey of England (LEQSE) report found ‘unacceptable’ levels of litter at 11% of sites inspected – and ‘acceptable’ doesn’t necessarily mean none. So if we all agree that litter is bad, how come we drop so much of it, and what are we going to do about it?

Whilst litter may offend us most when it defaces areas of natural beauty, our main exposure to it is in the places we spend most time and where it is most prevalent: within our local neighbourhoods. Recent Eunomia studies have highlighted the impacts of litter. Some are fairly obvious – it makes the place look bad, which we call “visual disamenity”, and which can be given an economic value. Others you might not have thought of: for example, plastic litter dropped on land gets into water courses, causing blockages that may lead to flooding, and eventually ending up as marine litter. There’s also evidence connecting a littered environment with crime, mental health problems and even reduced house prices.

To litter, too late

Despite ongoing investment in anti-littering campaigns, littering in the UK isn’t decreasing. In England alone, Keep Britain Tidy estimates that cleaning it up costs almost £1 billion a year, much of it coming from under-pressure local authority budgets. Councils typically use methods such as enforcement and penalties, the installation of bins, clean-up rounds and education programmes with local staff. Extra expenditure on these activities is unlikely, and might not really represent good value for money compared with alternative ways of tackling litter.

A change of mindset is needed. We need to move beyond local authority litter clearance teams dealing with the problem, and instead look at generating long term behaviour change, increasing personal awareness and responsibility for littering. That would be a big step towards a society where people choose to dispose of waste responsibly rather than leaving it for someone else to clear up. That may sound idealistic, but despite some 21^st century challenges, there is evidence that this sort of social change is possible.

The first and perhaps most significant of these challenges is the often-bemoaned decline in neighbourhood community spirit. To understand what’s changed, we need to recognise that ‘neighbourhoods’ are fundamentally about geographical areas, whereas ‘communities’ are formed around shared interests.

Community care

Prior to the 1950s, the overlap between neighbourhoods and communities was enormous, but subsequent developments have driven a wedge between them. People more often move from place to place for work or work far from home, and far fewer neighbourhoods are dominated by a single large employer such as a mine or factory. Our leisure pursuits changed, as people spent more time in the house in front of the TV screen.

Latterly, technology has played a growing role, with people increasingly focused on digitally-maintained friendships, and finding a place in communities of interest online that bring together people from around the world. The rise of social media, whilst allowing individuals to stay connected to distant friends, may be playing a part in undermining the culturally significant social aspects of geographical neighbourhoods.

Picking teams: community litter action can help forge social bonds. Photo by St Peter’s Community News (CC BY-SA 2.0)

In addition to local residents, it is increasing acknowledged that businesses which operate within a neighbourhood are also part of the community. Businesses have an important part to play in litter prevention. Research has shown a negative impact on company image and the price consumers are willing to pay for a product when branded packaging turns up as litter. Businesses may also be willing to sponsor community litter reduction projects, providing an alternative or supplement to the limited resources that councils and charities may be able to provide to support and co-ordinate them.

Helping neighbourhoods to generate a sense of community has become a significant challenge that is recognised across a broad range of sectors, including housing developers, street designers, neighbourhood forums, community groups, the police and the health service. There is a widespread consensus that neighbourhood communities have the potential to provide a whole host of wider benefits to the environment, society and the economy.

As the spirit moves them

A small but growing body of research suggests that identifying a common theme or concern within a specific neighbourhood can aid in the initiation stages of establishing the foundations of a geographical community. Many third sector organisations are currently developing models focused around engaging and empowering communities through instigating local environmental improvement or social activities within their local area. Frequently used approaches include:

A key aspect of this work for the third sector is providing support but not taking control, allowing communities to develop their own character based on the issues that motivate them.

This process of allowing community spirit to develop from the ground up has been shown to manifest itself into a greater sense of local pride, and a focus on litter can lead to something of a virtuous cycle. Once the neighbourhood is changed into a more attractive and pleasant place, people are likely to spend more time outdoors, where serendipitous contact with their neighbours – no longer strangers because of their shared voluntary work – can happen. Spending more time outdoors in a visibly improved environment can give rise to better health and wellbeing.

Of course, people who have worked together to improve their local environment are less likely to mess it up again by dropping litter. However, they are also more likely to be sensitised to care if they notice someone else littering – whether that results in challenging the litterer, or simply picking up after them. When streets are better-frequented they are also less likely to play host to anti-social behaviour, including littering, as potential perpetrators will be aware of the greater risk of being spotted.

Community engagement is the key to helping people recognise that litter is the responsibility of us all, not just a matter for councils and their waste operatives. Supporting community groups has the potential to be extremely cost-effective, not just in its effect on litter levels but in terms of the other benefits it brings to neighbourhoods and communities. Funding to seed such projects ought to attract sponsorship from business, and should remain a priority for local councils.

Sophie Crossette