Understanding the Littering Behaviour in the Sydney Olympic Park

Questions: 1.Define the problem , along with broad description of setting/ context2.Identifying the relevant stakeholders who get affected.3.Evaluating the most relevant / important issues to be considered while implementing any solutions for the problem a)The physical nature of problemb)The psychological or social nature of the problem Answers: 1. The Sydney Olympic Park has been facing a continuous problem of littering. Littering makes the entire area looks very dirty a swell as uncared for. Research indicates that the approximate cost of litter services across Australia is around $300 million to $350 million annually. Litter is an environmental hazard as it can lead to blocking of drains which can further result in floods , moreover it can be very dangerous to the people as the littered items for example needles, syringes, broken glass etc. are very harmful (Bell, 2015). The park is filled with various kinds of litter that also includes cigarette butts, plastic bags, as well as other plastic items that is very harmful for animals as well as marine life in several ways. Cigarette butts are amongst the most littered items as they contribute to almost 43 percent of the total littered items. According to the National Litter Index results 2011/ 2012 for New South Wales, the most littered items include cigarette butts, plastic items as well as paper boards. Moreover it costs millions of dollars for cleaning up as well as managing litter(Kesab, 2015). Litter pollutes the marine life by polluting water and animals might get caught up in the thrown plastic items and might get strangled or even injured. 2. The major stakeholder in this case is the natural environment which is worst affected by the littering process. Some other stakeholders include : corporate, retailers, residents, vendors, tertiary institutions , farmers, schools, local authorities, as well as communities(The Chronicle, 2016) . Around 50,000 tonnes of litter is being tossed in the state parks, waterways as well as gutter every year. there are many fines being imposed by Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA) and regulatory authorities so as to enforce the littering provisions of POEO Act as well as Waste Regulation. It is the marine ecosystem, animals, plants as well as human beings living in the areas all get impacted by litter being thrown in the park. Both men and women are equally likely to litter around , however it has been found that lack of bins in the area is not the major factor that causes littering behaviour as most of the littering occurred around 5 metres of a bin and mainly in case of cigarette butts (Kaieteur News, 2014). 3. a) It has been found that people more likely litter at some places as compared to others and they litter very less or do not litter at all at the places that are already clean. Moreover people are less likely to litter in case a bin is closer to the place they need it (Curnow et al., 1997). Some of the features of the location or infrastructure which prevents littering behaviour is when the location is totally clean , and the bins as well as furniture looks well cared for and there are no indications of vandalism or graffiti (Jack, 2010). People also make right disposing choices if the signage is consistent as well as clear or looks attractive. It has been found that the common justifications given by people for littering are: non-availability of bins, someone else will be picking up the litter, etc. But in currents scenario this seems to be just an excuse to cover their laziness regarding throwing litter in the bins (DeMiglio Williams, 2008). b) There are studies that have found various types of behaviours that are associated with littering and this includes wedgers the ones who stuff disposable objects at places or small spaces , where they cannot be seen for example below their seats; undertakers - the ones who bury their disposable items under leaves or sand or mud and foul shooters the ones who aim for the bin but miss out and finally leave the objects n the ground itself (Beverage Industry Environment Council, 2012). The littering actions of people are mainly affected by factors like: litter types; their perception about whether littering matters to them; how they think about particular place; and whether they are being seen littering or not. On the basis of a study litterers have been classified as: heavy, moderate and anti-litterers (Koltko-Rivera, 2004). These litterers also indicated that their behaviour is very highly-variable on the basis of various perceptions about themselves as well as the way they relate to the people as well as their surroundings (Lesser Pope, 2011). The behaviour of heavy litterers is found to be sociopathic means depicting exaggerated individualism and they only care if it affects them and anti litterers are traditional in thinking as they reflect the core values or upbringing and they are more concerned about how it will impact others (NSW EPA, 2013). Bibliography Bell, A., 2015. Sydney tossers getting off scot free as councils go soft on litter fines, data reveals. The Daily Telegraph, 15 January. Beverage Industry Environment Council, 2012. U nderstanding Littering behaviour in Australia. [Online] Available at: https://kab.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/understanding-littering-behaviour-lbs1.pdf [Accessed 16 Dec 2016]. Curnow, R.C., Williams, E. P., S., 1997. Understanding why people litter: A Literature Review.. A Beverage Industry Environment Council Publication. DeMiglio, L. Williams, A., 2008. A sense of place, a sense of wellbeing. Aldershot, England: Ashgate Publishing Company. Jack, G., 2010. Place matters: The significance of place attachments for childrens well-being. British Journal of Social Work, 40, pp.755-71. Kaieteur News, 2014. NRE hosts stakeholders conference to target litter prevention regulations. [Online] Available at: https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2014/03/01/nre-hosts-stakeholders-conference-to-target-litter-prevention-regulations/ [Accessed 16 Dec 2016]. Kesab, 2015. Littering Behaviour. [Online] Available at: https://www.squareholes.com/assets/case-study/KESAB.pdf [Accessed 16 Dec 2016]. Koltko-Rivera, M.E., 2004. The psychology of worldviews. Review of General Psychology, 8(1), pp.3-58. Lesser, J.G. Pope, D.S., 2011. An integrating framework for human behavior. Boston: Pearson. NSW EPA, 2013. NSW Litter Prevention Kit. [Online] Available at: https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/resources/litter/130800-lpk-things-know.pdf [Accessed 16 December 2016]. The Chronicle, 2016. Say No to litter in 2016. [Online] Available at: https://www.chronicle.co.zw/say-no-to-litter-in-2016/ [Accessed 16 Dec 2016].