Litter on Campus and
in Our Community

Did you know that cigarette butts are responsible for
88% of the litter on Longwood's campus? Cigarette
butts are also the most common type of litter found in
Virginia, the USA and the world during the annual
International Coastal Cleanup. Litter can have
many effects on the environment and it is extremely
costly to clean up. During storms, rain water runoff
moves litter into storm drains, where it enters streams
and rivers, further contaminating our water supply.
Litter also effects animals' habitats and increases their
vulnerability of becoming entangled in trash, or
ingesting plastic and other harmful items.

Learn More: Here

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Waste, Trash, and Garbage
We Generate

Waste is material discarded, used up or left over from
industrial, commercial and domestic activities. If
handled improperly waste can pollute the land, air and
water. The amount of waste going to the landfill is
increasing due to the over use of products such as:
paper, plastic, cans, glass and other disposable
materials. Approximately 70% of the total waste
discarded to the landfill could be recycled and
converted into valuable products, re-used or
composted. We must recycle as much as possible to
minimize the waste we generate.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency,
Americans produced 2.7 pounds per person per day in
1960. By 1970, the per capita generation of waste was
3.3 pounds per person per day and by 1980, the per
capita generation of waste rose to 3.7 pounds.
Currently Americans generation 4.5 pounds of waste
per person per day. This alarming number can be
reduced by buying fewer disposable items, by reusing
items over and over, and by recycling waste when we
are finally done using it.

Learn More: Here

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Paper: A Special Problem

Paper is the number one material that we throw away.
For every 100 pounds of trash we throw away, 35
pounds is paper. (Source: U.S. EPA)

Recycling one ton of paper will save:

• 17 to 31 trees
  
• 7000 gallons of water
  
• 60 pounds of air pollutants
  
• 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space
  
• 4077 Kilowatt hours of energy