The Problems with Litter in North Carolina

Litter can be found everywhere in North Carolina.

On roadsides, on the landscape, and in our waterways. Not only is litter unsightly, it’s also costly.

Every year, entities such as the North Carolina Department of Transportation, local governments, and nonprofit organizations spend significant money and time on litter cleanup activities. Litter that is cleaned up is usually landfilled, bypassing the opportunity to be recycled. Litter that is not cleaned up can degrade into microplastics, which damage water quality and can have negative health impacts.

No single policy will eliminate all litter. However, a set of targeted, common-sense policies would allow for the reduction of certain types of waste that tend to be the most commonly littered.

Those include:

• Implementing a bottle deposit program

• Reinstating local government action on plastic waste

• Examining state and local government procurement
  practices

• Leveraging existing water quality policies to abate litter

• “Skipping the Stuff” to reduce single-use plastic
  consumption

• Requiring extended producer responsibility

Policymakers should consider these options to decide what
could be successful in North Carolina.