Wondercide is in the bug business. Getting rid of those creepy crawlers, late night haulers, and blood-sucking maulers! But there is one kind of bug that really gets under our skin – Litterbugs!
Litter impacts the Earth and animals. Keep America Beautiful released the largest study on litter in America recently and shared some sobering statistics. Did you ever wonder how many pieces of litter can be found along U.S. roadways and waterways? 50 billion! And the problem is a bit worse along the shoreline. Breaking that staggering number down a bit more, it equates to 152 pieces of litter for each and every resident or 2,000 pieces of litter per mile. That’s a lot of activity from those litterbugs, but it gets worse.
A bird along the shoreline in Austin, Texas pecks at litter and is in danger of ingesting plastics and other things that can be harmful.
Animals are innocent victims affected by litter every day. Unesco shares over one million animals (including mammals, fish, sharks, turtles, and birds) die each year after ingesting, or being trapped in improperly disposed trash. Experts are conducting research to determine how much more “over one million” the impact is, and Green Matters shares that number may be shockingly higher.
The act of littering has far-reaching consequences, which go well beyond the cost of clean up to taxpayers. Litter is a breeding ground for bacteria and can spread disease such as cholera and typhoid. Littering also introduces noxious waste into the environment that animals consume, which can lead to poisoning.
How can we stop litterbugs? You may have seen some social videos with this sage advice: Not littering. It’s that simple. But that’s a call to action to the same bugs that are littering and we know they might not get it at first. So what else can we do?
Take action! That’s why Wondercide teammates across the country are leading the charge to clean up and beautify areas in their local towns. And Wondercide is setting a lofty goal – to pick up a ton of trash across America over the next year.
Wondercide teammates gather to celebrate Earth month by cleaning up litter along the hike and bike trail in Austin, the hometown of the Wondercide headquarters.
You can join the Wondercide Litterbug League too. Volunteer for an organized clean up effort during Earth month or any month. Earthday.org shares a cleanup map so you can find one near you and join in, or even register your own clean up event.
Not going to an organized clean up? Help any day by plogging – from the Swedish plocka (to pick up) and jogga (to jog). Plog by picking up trash as you walk or run in your neighborhood. Just keep a biodegradable bag and gloves with you so you can pick up as you go.
The Wondercide Litterbug League picks up as they go on a walk. We can all do our part and one piece of litter at a time can lead to big changes.
We can all do a little bit at a time that will add up to big, positive changes for the environment. Let’s get to it.
