IT’S A PRETTY safe bet these days that we have several times more discarded coffee cups than people. Litter is an unintended consequence of our increasingly convenience-oriented, disposable culture. 

Discarded cigarette butts constitute a surprisingly large proportion of litter, and about 20 per cent of them end up in rivers, lakes, streams and oceans. The toxins filtered out of the tobacco are then shared with fish and other marine organisms.  

Many cigarette smokers litter habitually in full public view with complete, guilt-free impunity. A survey conducted by four members of the Nova Scotia Youth Conservation Corps in July and August of 2008 retrieved more than 16,000 pieces of litter. Cigarette butts made up about three quarters of the volume.

In a surveyed sampling of Canadians, almost half admitted to littering. A Nova Scotia survey showed a 21 per cent worsening between 2004 and 2009. New Brunswick has just undertaken a similar survey. Newfoundland and Labrador is too vast for its sparse populace to have the same impact as elsewhere. Prince Edward Island seems preoccupied with shoreline and beach fouling—but the general emphasis everywhere seems to be on cleanup, not prevention.

Distressingly, our own observations suggest some young people are particularly lacking in respect in this regard (we have one junior and one senior high school near our office). Fast food wrappers and beverage containers are often just shamelessly left wherever the students eat or walk. Comment begets shrugs or foul-mouthed defiance: there’s no embarrassment.

Oh, there are government initiatives and there’s no shortage of rhetoric on the subject, but all or most of it seems to be directed toward treating the symptoms rather than the fundamental problem—lack of personal responsibility.

To a large extent, the cleanup of our highways is left to community groups and volunteers. We might argue that while such endeavours are commendable, they also serve to leave the impression that if we simply heave our litter out the window, some nice person (translation “sucker”) will clean it up—so it’s okay.

Huge strides have been made in recent years with respect to recycling—but littering significantly undermines that progress and constitutes serious environmental degradation.

As the problem continues to worsen, we must assume that current strategies and initiatives are ineffective. Perhaps we need to consider a national public education campaign (with input from fast food retailers) combined with consequences. Laws are pointless without enforcement. When was the last time you heard or read of anyone being prosecuted for littering?

We live in a beautiful place. It’s disheartening to watch the litterpigs despoil and disfigure it.

~ Linda & Jim Gourlay

e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.