When it comes to littering and pollution, these are some of Riverside County Watershed Protection’s biggest offenders. Most of these pollutants may be small but pose big risks for our watershed.
- Cigarette Butts: Over 5 trillion cigarettes are purchased a year and 65% of those end up as litter. While cigarettes butts are not usually recyclable, they can be properly disposed of in the trash to ensure that they don’t end up in our waterways.
- Food Wrappers: These can including anything from candy wrappers, granola bar wrappers, or gum wrappers. Keep a bag in your car to collect your trash throughout the day and make clean up easier for both your car and the watershed.
- Plastic Bottles: A million plastic bottles are purchased every minute and only half of those wind up being recycled. Instead bring your own reusable water bottle to fill up on the go and avoid the one-use plastics all together.
- Plastic Bags: 100 million bags are used every year in the U.S. alone. Only 1% are recycled. Bring along a reusable tote bag the next time you go shopping and avoid the $.10 fee and the possibility of another plastic bag ending up in our watershed.
- Straws: 500 million straws are thrown out daily in the U.S. alone. When eating out just skip the straw or bring your own reusable straw.
- Disposable Cups: Coffee is the most popular beverage in the U.S. so much so that nearly 50 billion paper coffee cups get thrown away each year. Instead, bring an insulated tumbler to your local coffee shop and have them fill it with your favorite brew.
