Editing Litter (section)

==Causes==
{{Multiple image
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| image1            = Strathfield Platform condition(2).jpg
| caption1          = Platform of [[Strathfield railway station|Strathfield station]] in Sydney, Australia. Rubbish accumulated over months, perhaps years due to unsustained periods of frequent cleaning.
| image2            = Trash left by panhandlers in Germantown, Maryland (23 April 2022), 02.31.07.jpg
| caption2          = Rubbish on a street corner in Germantown, Maryland, left behind by [[Begging|panhandlers]]
| image3            = Tarapith.JPG
| caption3          = A small river's valley in India shows extensive littering of plastic and paper. Human waste, illustrated by the urinating man, increase fecal coliform and other bacteria levels in the water.
| image4            = 2018 02 Templin DSCF1313.jpg
| caption4          = Littering in nature
}}
In addition to intentional littering, almost half of litter on U.S. roadways is now accidental or unintentional litter, usually debris that falls off improperly secured trash, recycling collection vehicles and pickup trucks.<ref>{{cite web |last=Greve |first=Frank |date=January 24, 2008 |title=Fewer people trashing U.S. roads, beaches, experts say |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/244/story/25267.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805042727/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/244/story/25267.html |archive-date=2009-08-05 |access-date=2012-02-21 |publisher=Mcclatchydc.com}}</ref> Population levels, traffic density and proximity to waste disposal sites are factors known to correlate with higher litter rates.<ref name="erplanning.com">{{cite web |url=http://erplanning.com/uploads/National_Geographic_Article.pdf |title=Erplanning.com |access-date=2012-02-21 |archive-date=2020-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924165814/http://erplanning.com/uploads/National_Geographic_Article.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=New Jersey Litter Report |url=http://www.njclean.org/New-Jersey-Litter-Report.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216131456/http://www.njclean.org/New-Jersey-Litter-Report.pdf |archive-date=2017-02-16 |access-date=2012-02-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3175688 |title=Debris Wreaks Havoc on the Road - ABC News |publisher=Abcnews.go.com |date=2007-05-15 |access-date=2012-02-21 |archive-date=2011-06-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628192701/http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3175688 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Leigh |first=Patricia |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D01E2D81431F932A25756C0A9619C8B63 |title=Highway Debris, Long an Eyesore, Grows as Hazard - NYTimes.com |location=California |work=New York Times |date=2007-05-11 |access-date=2012-02-21 |archive-date=2012-11-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111082229/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D01E2D81431F932A25756C0A9619C8B63 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NE 2010 survey">{{cite web|url=http://njclean.org/DOCUMENTS/2010-Northeast-Litter-Survey-Final-Report.pdf|title=Northeast 2010 Litter Survey, Retrieved 2012.05.16|website=njclean.org|access-date=27 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216131748/http://njclean.org/DOCUMENTS/2010-Northeast-Litter-Survey-Final-Report.pdf|archive-date=16 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Illegally dumped [[hazardous waste]] may be a response to the costs of dropping materials at designated sites: some of these charge a fee for depositing [[hazardous material]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.epa.gov/region5/waste/illegal_dumping/downloads/il-dmpng.pdf |title=Illegal Dumping Prevention Guidebook |date=29 January 2013 |access-date=2013-02-03 |archive-date=2013-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130427141748/http://www.epa.gov/region5/waste/illegal_dumping/downloads/il-dmpng.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Lack of access to nearby facilities that accept hazardous waste may deter use. Additionally, ignorance of the laws that regulate the proper disposal of hazardous waste may cause improper disposal.

According to a study by the Dutch organization VROM, 80% of people claim that "everybody leaves a piece of paper, tin or something, on the street behind".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2010/december/20/costarica10122006.htm |title=Volunteers Pick Up Litter in Sabana Park |access-date=2013-02-03 |archive-date=2013-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113232115/http://www.insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2010/december/20/costarica10122006.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Young people from 12 to 24 years cause more litter than the average (Dutch or Belgian) person; only 18% of people who regularly cause litter were 50 years of age or older. However, a 2010 survey of littering in Maine, [[New Hampshire]] and [[Vermont]] in the United States, placed litterers aged 55 and over at less than 5%. The same observational study estimated that 78% of litterers are male.<ref name="NE 2010 survey" /> Litter organizations, such as [[Keep America Beautiful]] affiliates, [[Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful]], and the Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association, have focused educational efforts on youth littering.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.marincounty.org/-/media/files/departments/pw/mcstoppp/annual-report/2010_2011-annual-report/basmaa_litter_3-15-11.pdf |title=BASMAA Five-Year Regional Strategic Outreach Plan: Litter |date=March 9, 2011 |publisher=Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association |access-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-date=March 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309065757/https://www.marincounty.org/-/media/files/departments/pw/mcstoppp/annual-report/2010_2011-annual-report/basmaa_litter_3-15-11.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/imported/clean-up-your-act-and-bin-the-litter-say-stars-28346252.html |title=Clean up your act and bin the litter, say stars |date=July 5, 2008 |publisher=Belfast Telegraph |access-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216164928/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/imported/clean-up-your-act-and-bin-the-litter-say-stars-28346252.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://dot.ca.gov/-/media/dot-media/programs/research-innovation-system-information/documents/preliminary-investigations/pi-0248-a11y.pdf |title=Measuring the Effectiveness of a Stormwater Public Education Campaign: Survey of Practice |date=December 4, 2019 |publisher=California Department of Transportation |access-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-date=March 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320081427/https://dot.ca.gov/-/media/dot-media/programs/research-innovation-system-information/documents/preliminary-investigations/pi-0248-a11y.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> 

Negligent or lenient law enforcement contributes to littering behavior. Other causes are inconvenience, entitlement and economic conditions. A survey of dumping in [[Pennsylvania]] found that the largest number of illegal dumps were in townships without municipal trash hauling.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ydr.com/ci_15429915|title=The York Daily Record|website=The York Daily Record|access-date=27 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111223349/http://www.ydr.com/ci_15429915|archive-date=11 November 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The same report also cites unavailability of curbside trash and recycling service, shortage of enforcement, and habit as possible causes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.keeppabeautiful.org/Portals/0/PDFs/IDS/MASTER_yorkIDS.pdf|title='PA CleanWays - Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful: Illegal Dump Survey Final Report York County 2010|website=keeppabeautiful.org|access-date=27 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130427005301/http://www.keeppabeautiful.org/Portals/0/PDFs/IDS/MASTER_yorkIDS.pdf|archive-date=27 April 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The presence of litter invites more littering.<ref>{{cite web
 | last1 = Dur
 | first1 = Robert
 | last2 = Vollaard
 | first2 = Ben
 | title = The Power of a Bad Example – A Field Experiment in Household Garbage Disposal
 | url = http://www.tinbergen.nl/discussionpapers/12061.pdf
 | access-date = Jul 2, 2012
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120729211917/http://www.tinbergen.nl/discussionpapers/12061.pdf
 | archive-date = July 29, 2012
 | url-status = dead
 }}</ref>

===Two-stage process model===
The two-stage process model of littering behavior 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.<ref>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.</ref>

The theory has 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.