Litter and the Damage it does to Animals
People in Lanark drop litter for no reason and this can be bad for the environment. Litter cannot only be bad for the environment but can also hurt animals. If there is litter lying on the ground a small animal can get something stuck round their neck/foot/arm/beak. For example a plastic ring holder can get stuck around a small animal’s neck. Some litter gets washed out to the sea and some can hurt the animals in the sea.
Recycling
The Marine Conservation Society is asking people to help pick up litter on beaches. We researched that littering on beaches has jumped by a third. Between 2014 and 2015 there has been more than a 100,000 plastic bottles dropped. Last year there was more than 8000 bottles dropped over a weekend in the UK. This is very bad and has to stop! They could all be reduced, reused and recycled.
E-Waste
20 to 50 million metric tons of e-waste are disposed worldwide every year. Phones and other electronic items contain high amounts of precious metals like gold or silver. We researched that the United Nations Environment Programme estimate that up to 50 million tonnes of e-waste are generated every year. Half of all these electrical goods actually work or would require only very basic repairs to make them work.
Litter on Beaches
We researched that The Marine Conservation Society held a big litter pick. They found that between 2014/2015 thousands of plastic bottles were dropped. They come to the beaches every month to tidy up the litter that other people drop. We found that 8000 plastic bottles were dropped over one weekend (2 days!) on the UK beaches.
Oceans and Lakes
Even though the oceans seem big enough to handle all the litter, they don't, all of the litter that you throw on the ground goes into the sewers and then goes into the oceans and lakes. What happens is little fish eat the waste, then the bigger fish eat them and that continues. Then those fish get caught by fishermen, and we end up eating the little fish so, basically we are eating the waste that we throw away.
An Interview with Eco-Committee Leader Mrs Gracie
How do you feel about Littering in Lanark?
‘I think there is a lot of litter around roadsides, paths and the countryside but there is not a lot around houses.’
Where do you think the worst places are to find Litter?
‘The Racecourse road there is a lot of Litter.’
Why do you think people drop Litter?
‘I think it's probably just laziness, disrespect and selfishess to nature and people. There's not really a justification for dropping litter.’
What do you think we could do to stop people from dropping litter?
‘Making people pay for dropping litter and picking their litter up after they have dropped it.’