Littering behavior

Many factors contribute to why people choose to litter, according to Francis McAndrew's book, "Environmental Psychology". He argues the "presence of other litter" is a powerful instigator. Studies confirm that "litter begets litter". A "disconnect from reality" – apathy – is a second dynamic. In 1999, research by Keep America Beautiful found 75 percent of Americans admitted to littering the last five years, yet 99 percent of the same surveyed individuals admitted they enjoyed a clean environment. Negligent, lax law enforcement contributes to this disconnect. Often, violations must be witnessed to be legally pursued. Inconvenience is another influence. Entitlement is a fourth dynamic to why people litter. A fifth factor is class alienation leading to poor education of individuals. "Dumping is a social activity we learn from...parents pass on unconsciously to...children." Litterers are "raised badly" by parents--"…vandals with little sense [of the] damage they do." A temptation to litter can be motivated "by greed" and ignorance about law and its enforcement, according to a United States Department of Justice document, mentioning the criminal intent of suspects arrested for illegal waste disposal, reassured in a climate of lax law enforcement. Lastly, governmental neglect influences littering. "Government… [has followed] the path of least resistance… [in addressing] externalities…that may pose…health threat [s] …to nearby communities." Culturally biased indifference by public servants causes some communities to have persistent dumping problems.

The two-stage process model of littering behaviour describes the different ways in which people litter. The model was proposed by Chris Sibley and James Liu, and differentiates between two types of littering: active and passive. The distinction between active (e.g., someone drops litter on the ground and continues walking) and passive littering (e.g., someone drops litter on a bench while seated and fails to remove it when subsequently leaving) depends on the latency between (a) when the litter is placed in the environment and (b) failure to remove that litter when vacating the territory (see Table 1).

The theory has important implications for understanding the different types of litter reduction interventions that will most effectively reduce littering in a given environment. The theory states that, all things being equal, passive littering will be more resistant to change, because of two psychological processes: 1. diffusion of responsibility that increases as the latency between when an individual places litter in the environment and when they vacate the territory, and 2. forgetting, which is also more likely to occur at longer delays between when an individual places litter in the environment and when they vacate the territory.

References

* Spacek, Steve L. (2004) "DO MESS WITH IT!": A Sociopolitical Study of Littering and the Role of Southern and Nearby States. Texas State University. [www.ecommons.txstate.edu/arp27]
* Sibley, C. G., & Liu, J. H. (2003). Differentiating active and passive littering: A two-stage process model of littering behavior in public spaces. "Environment and Behavior", 35, 415-433.