Litter has gone from being viewed primarily as an aesthetic problem to a broader environmental issue. Nowadays, litter is seen as an issue involving paper, bottles and food packaging. Litter stereotypes EPA research found that people think of litterers as disgusting, disrespectful, lazy, ignorant, careless, dirty and unclean. In reality, the community ranges from those who collect other people's litter to those who willfully litter. In the middle are those who don't care enough to overcome the inconvenience of finding a bin.
Many smokers blame their littering behaviour on a lack of well placed bins for cigarette butts.
Over half of smokers said they would change their behaviour if they were more aware of the issue and their potential environmental impact. Litter is a problem throughout NSW, particularly in urban areas and in the more populated areas of Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong. A lack of bins is not a major factor in littering - most littering occurs within 5 metres of a bin. Bin use is most common between 11am and 2pm. Littering is most common about 4pm.