If you walk around outside and look on the ground, what do you see? Chances are, you will see some litter! Litter is waste that has not been thrown away properly. When people flick garbage on the floor, that is littering.
Littering can happen in urban areas. Because cities have a lot of people, there is often a lot of litter on the streets.
Littering can happen in rural areas. Because natural places do not have a lot of garbage bins, people often leave their garbage in nature. Sadly, some people's laziness and carelessness ruins nature for others.
Some litter can seem very small. Throwing a food container on the street might not seem like littering, but it is.
Some litter can seem very big. Leaving mattresses on the street might not seem like littering, but it is.
All litter is harmful. All litter contaminates the environment.
Litter is very harmful to animals. Many animals die from eating litter. The litter that is on our streets washes away and makes its way into our waterways.
These birds lived on an island called Midway Island. Midway Island is more than 3,000km away from the nearest continent. There are no humans living near these birds.
Many birds started dying on the island. Scientists cut them open to find out what killed them. They found that the birds were full of plastic.
Birds eat garbage because it looks colourful. Birds normally eat their food in whole chunks. They have special stones in their bodies to help break down large pieces of food. But they cannot break down huge chunks of plastic. The plastic stays in the bird's body forever. Eventually, the bird's stomach is full of plastic and there is no room for food. The birds starve to death.
Over 1 million seabirds die each year just from eating plastic. But they are not the only animals that suffer. Over 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles also die each year from eating plastic.
We need to be responsible with our garbage. Use as little plastic as you can. If you must use it, dispose of it properly.
A plastic bottle will not decompose for 450 years. It is very long-lasting. If you use a plastic bottle, it will still be garbage long after you are gone.
There are many consequences for littering. You might get fined. You might have to spend time cleaning up. These punishments must be enforced.
Be careful what you do with your garbage. Everything we throw away eventually goes back into nature.