Residents Urged to Take Pride
in Our State
Eighty percent of Arizona residents consider freeway litter to be a problem in our state, with 38 percent going so far as to call it a “big problem.” Forty-two percent say littering is most likely to happen while driving. Yet only 32 percent of residents admit to littering.
These are just a few of the sometimes conflicting messages researchers heard during a telephone survey of 1,200 Arizona residents. The benchmark survey was conducted by MAG and funded by the Arizona Department of Transportation to learn more about why people litter and to provide guidance for targeted campaign messages.
“The survey confirms that Arizona residents, especially those living in Maricopa County, find littering to be of significant concern,” said Transportation Policy Committee Chair and Phoenix City Councilmember Peggy Bilsten. “It also supports our original theory that littering is a complex behavior that is attributed to a variety of sources, including deliberate tossing of litter from vehicles, accidental litter from items blowing out of vehicles or from unsecured loads, and litter left behind by pedestrians,” she said.
“Severe” Litter
Soda and beer cans top the list of items that residents are most likely to label as a “severe” litter problem. Soda cans or bottles were mentioned by 34 percent of respondents, beer cans or bottles by 31 percent, while an additional 12 percent mentioned water bottles. More than one in five residents also mentioned plastic items and cigarette butts as litter they consider to be a severe problem (27% and 22%, respectively). Paper, food wrappers, and tires were also mentioned by more than one in six residents (16% to 18%).
Truck Litter
Truck drivers were most likely to report that soda cans and bottles are the most common type of litter that would be found in the back of their truck (mentioned by 20%). Plastic bags/other plastics (11%), small pieces of paper (9%), as well as construction (10%) or lawn debris (7%) made up most of the other types of litter that can be found in truck beds. Twelve percent of truck drivers indicated that they do not put any type of litter in the beds of their trucks.
Litter Bag Use
Three in five residents (62%) indicated they keep a litterbag or trash can in their vehicle. Interestingly, Maricopa County residents are significantly less likely to have a litterbag or trash can in their vehicles (57%) than Pima County residents (65%) and residents living in the outlying areas of the state (74%). Residents most likely to report having a litterbag or trash can in their vehicle are females (66%), older residents (71% of those age 55 or older), and those with household incomes less than $40,000 (68%).
Those who do not currently have a litterbag or trash can in their vehicle were asked if they would consider keeping one in their vehicle; approximately half (54%) answered yes. Again, residents in the outlying areas of the state were more amenable to putting a litterbag in their vehicle than those in Maricopa or Pima Counties (64% vs. 53% and 49%, respectively).
Messages
When asked what types of messages would be most effective in reducing freeway litter, 71 percent of survey respondents felt that the strongest message would be to let people know that littering carries a misdemeanor fine of $500. Ironically, the same number (71%) did not believe they would ever get caught for littering. Other messages that tested well focused on issues of safety and the high costs involved in cleaning up litter.
While all of those messages are expected to be included to some degree in an upcoming advertising campaign, Bilsten said the most prevalent message will focus on taking pride in our beautiful state.
“We believe if we can remind people that even small pieces of litter mount up to a big problem and destroy our beautiful desert vistas, maybe we can get them to think twice before tossing litter on our freeways,” said Bilsten. “Litter is ugly. Our message is simple: Don’t trash Arizona.”
