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Litter research

We have carried out research into public behaviour and attitudes towards littering.

Key findings

Littering behaviour

Since 2004, the number of people who admit to littering has dropped 11 per cent.

The most commonly dropped items of litter are:

• cigarette butts
• paper
• pieces of fruit.

The people most likely to litter are:

• young people (56 per cent)
• smokers (55 per cent).

The main reasons for littering are:

• laziness
• lack of facilities
• carelessness
• ignorance
• not caring.

Most people in Belfast (98 per cent) agree that it is up to each individual to take responsibility for their own litter..

Anti-litter advertising

We also asked people what they thought about our anti-litter advertisements:

• 82 per cent recalled some form of anti-litter advertising
• 62 per cent are familiar with our advertising
• 67 per cent thought our advertisements were effective.