Littering is the improper disposal of waste, from a dropped gum wrapper to large-scale dumping. This widespread issue negatively impacts the environment, particularly animal populations. Discarded items disrupt natural habitats, posing direct and indirect threats to wildlife. The consequences of littering extend beyond aesthetics, profoundly influencing the health and survival of numerous species.
Physical Dangers to Wildlife
Litter presents immediate physical hazards to animals. Animals can become entangled in discarded items such as plastic bags, fishing lines, and six-pack rings. This entanglement can restrict movement, impair hunting abilities, or lead to strangulation and suffocation, with marine mammals, birds, and turtles frequently affected. The RSPCA reportedly receives around 5,000 calls annually concerning animals trapped by litter.
Animals also mistake litter for food and ingest it. Plastic fragments, cigarette butts, and balloons are often consumed, causing internal injuries, blockages in the digestive system, or a false sense of fullness that leads to starvation. Small creatures like shrews, hedgehogs, and voles face risks from getting trapped in discarded bottles and cans, which can also lead to starvation or dehydration.
Sharp objects like broken glass and metal cans pose a direct threat, causing cuts, punctures, and other wounds to wildlife. These injuries can become infected, impairing an animal’s ability to forage or escape predators. Animals can also get stuck in discarded gum, which can mat their fur or feathers, making movement or flight difficult.
Chemical Contamination and Habitat Degradation
Litter contributes to chemical contamination and the degradation of natural habitats. Certain types of discarded waste, such as batteries, electronics, and some plastics, can release harmful chemicals into the soil and water. These toxins can poison animals directly through contact or ingestion, and can also accumulate within the food chain, affecting a wider range of species as they consume contaminated prey. For example, cigarette butts contain poisons like arsenic and formaldehyde that can leach into freshwater sources.
Large accumulations of litter can physically degrade natural habitats, making them unsuitable for wildlife. Discarded items can block waterways, disrupt natural water flow, or cover nesting sites, preventing animals from breeding or raising their young. This alteration of the environment can force animals to relocate. The presence of litter can also change soil composition, impacting plant life that serves as a food source or shelter for many species.
Toxins leaching into the environment can poison prey species, reducing their availability or making them unsafe for consumption. The physical presence of litter can reduce the overall availability of natural food sources, forcing animals to seek alternative, often less nutritious, options. This can lead to malnutrition and weaken animal populations, making them more susceptible to disease.
Disease Transmission and Indirect Threats
Litter indirectly harms wildlife by facilitating disease transmission and altering animal behavior. Food waste and other discarded materials attract scavengers such as rats, raccoons, and gulls. An increase in these generalist species can intensify competition for resources with native wildlife, potentially displacing them from their natural territories.
Accumulated litter, particularly food waste and stagnant water collected in containers, becomes a breeding ground for insects like mosquitoes and various pathogens. These conditions contribute to the spread of diseases among wildlife populations, with vectors transmitting illnesses. For instance, mosquitoes are known to transmit blood-borne diseases and thrive in stagnant water found in discarded items.
The presence of human litter can induce behavioral changes and increased stress in animals. Wildlife may become reliant on human-provided food, altering their natural foraging behaviors and potentially leading to nutritional deficiencies. Constant exposure to human refuse can also disrupt migration patterns or increase stress levels, which can have negative health consequences for individual animals and populations.