discussion post

The Cost of Littering
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Environmental protection awareness has notably increased in the recent past. However, one of the most significant challenges facing this endeavor is the commercial cost of environmental protection and reclamation. Quite often, it is the most trivial of our undoing that costs us insurmountable financial implications. In America, many stakeholders have voiced concern over the high prevalence of littering which refers to the unauthorized dumping of waste products at undesignated areas. Although it is often not prioritized, the cost of tackling littering is a colossal one.
A consultation of the findings of various environmental protection agencies is informative of the littering menace. Amongst the worthiest mentions are the findings of Keep America Beautiful, contained in an advisory entitled ‘Being a Good Neighbor; A Guide To Reducing And Managing Litter’. In this text, the authors begin by highlighting the most prevalent forms of litter, which include; tobacco products, food containers and wrappings, and different plastics. They move on tp provide fiscal estimates which suggest that the collection of this litter costs the American taxpayers 11.6 billion annually (Eastman et al. 2013).
The Virginia State Administration decried this high cost as well. In a report by Virginia’s Commissioner of Highways, it was revealed that littering alongside highways had compelled the department to dedicate a significant portion of their budget to taming the vice.

The commissioner explained that the highways department has engaged in partnerships with private entities with various aims including the collection of litter. The total debt owed to such entities was estimated at $2.67 billion, of which $6 million was dedicated to littering as part of their routine maintenance program (Hosten et al. 2015).
In conclusion, the place of one piece of litter in the web of pollution can be devastating. It is imperative that preventive measures be put in place and observed, to avoid the excessive costs of litter collection and environmental rehabilitation.

References
Eastman, L. B., Núñez, P., Crettier, B., & Thiel, M. (2013). Identification of self-reported user behavior, education level, and preferences to reduce littering on beaches–A survey from the SE Pacific. Ocean & Coastal Management, 78, 18-24.
Hosten, A., Chowdhury, T., Shekharan, R. A., Ayotte, M., & Coggins, E. (2015, June). Use of VDOT’s Pavement Management System to Proactively Plan and Monitor Pavement Maintenance and Rehabilitation Activities to Meet the Agency’s Performance Target. In 9th International Conference on Managing Pavement Assets.