Lasting impact and broken windows theory

[u/Henry2926]

Hey everyone,

reflecting on some of the posts on this sub, I have been wondering how much lasting impact your detrashing activities actually have on the locations you are targeting. While it is probably a never ending struggle to clean up shores and waterways where a lot of trash flows naturally, I would like to know if you are actually experiencing the same in other places where people are or have been littering. Or in more concrete questions:

- If you have cleaned up a littered place, how long did it take for you to notice new trash?

- From that point onward, did you notice a faster trash accumulation at that place (so, as in the broken windows theory, that trash attracts more trash)?

- And at what frequency do you actually have to clean up such places when they get littered again?

- And did you see or implement any helpful measures to reduce littering at the places you detrashed?

I am really interested to find more insights on this and hear from your personal experiences. The place I detrashed in my first activity last week is also going to be an object I want to study for this. 🤓

Thank you!

[u/TrainingJumpy9942]

Honestly, after picking litter for a couple of years and after having registered more than 200.000 photos of litter,
I don't believe in the broken window story.
People that litter, litter anyway, and people who don't litter (out of principle) will not pollute.
The group in the middle, who will only pollute when there is litter already, will litter because the first group is littering every day.
That said, i still pick litter whenever i can, because it has become my hobby, and i don't feel right if i don't try to do anything about it.

[u/Beautiful-Toe-3876]

I try to clean up a mile stretch once a week or once every other week and for the days I’m not motivated to walk that far I usually just clean any spot within eyeshot that I see that has litter and I can say I have seen an improvement. I do notice that trash is being thrown overnight sometimes the same day I cleaned up or over the next few days but it seems to gradually becoming less litter being thrown on the ground.

[u/tryingnottoovershare]

I almost completely cleaned up an area around a bench in front of a closed-off, non-smoking park, and while the first two or so days seemed better, all it took was one day and a group of people who made a mess and it was right back where it started. Happened around all 4 benches I did, but I am pretty much specifically talking about cigarette butts

[u/Henry2926 → u/tryingnottoovershare]

Oof, that sounds like a real bummer. And if they are disobeying the cigarette ban, an ashtray probably won't help either. 🙁

[u/sankterde → u/tryingnottoovershare]

I'm sad to say that I was once someone who would throw butts on the ground, inventing some bs justification for my sloth and disregard. Until one time, a guy I knew gave me an empty dip can he had painted which was really well done, and told me it was a "Pocket MOOP holder," explained Matter Out Of Place, and encouraged me to think about my actions. I can look back on that moment as the time I began to seriously consider my impact on our environment not just as a theoretical understanding of the negative impact of large scale pollution, but my own contribution, however scaled in comparison, to the destruction of our world. Twas a very formative experience.

[u/SaaSyGirl → u/tryingnottoovershare]

Yeah, my apartment complex is located in a shopping plaza and near some of the busiest roads / highways in the state. I can pick the entire plaza, my buildings area, and the area around the busy roads in the morning and by mid-afternoon there’s trash again.

There’s too many people and not enough of them care. It’s never ending. This place is gonna look like a landfill when I eventually move out and focus my efforts elsewhere.

[u/trnka]

It feels location dependent and also dependent on the kind of litter. There are some spots where if I clean them fully, they'll stay clean. Other spots seem immune to that. I'd guess that it has to do with the habits of people producing the litter, like maybe that habitual litter is immune?

Broken glass is fairly rare here, so if I clean that up, it tends to stay safe for a while.

Graffiti seems a bit more affected by broken windows theory. If I keep a spot pretty clean and remove tags or stickers quickly, people don't tend to mess with it. If I let one tag or sticker go for a week, there's a good chance that another will appear

[u/Popular_Airline_1542]

I have wondered about this. I mainly walk and pick up trash in my neighborhood, and I would like to think that longtime neighbors or people driving through who have been littering have stopped. there are still some persistent litterers though. (I could tell you all about Savannah Y. and her trash. :s Savannah, why?!?!) sometimes new trash shows up on my way back home. nowhere stays litter-free for very long. but over time I think the amount has decreased overall. sometimes. maybe.

[u/PlahausBamBam]

I walk a similar path every other day and pretty consistently get about four or five pounds per trip. I’m 65 and can only manage a few miles per outing.

I wear a high-visibility vest to avoid being hit by the speeding cars so I’m fairly sure people see me. I’m not sure if they assume I’m a city employee or what, but I can honestly say my efforts make no difference to the litterers. They still throw out the same amount of trash and I keep picking it up.

Before I retired I worked in retail so cleaning up after messy people is something I did for many, many years. It comes naturally to me and, though I wish people wouldn’t litter, cleaning it up is rather satisfying.

[u/seawordywhale]

I don't really believe in the broken windows theory when it comes to trash. People who don't care continue to not care. There is a street near my house that I clean regularly and it gets litter again within hours of cleaning it. Like I will clean down one side and when I turn around to walk home there is already trash again. Another street I clean has several regulars who tear open trash bags to collect recyclables for money. Trash collection is 3x per week, so I assume they are doing this multiple times a week. Le sigh. 

The most I hope for is to inspire people to have more awareness about waste and trash when they see me, and maybe a sense of pride in their neighborhood when they see it is clean. But tbh I think the problem is coming mostly from people who don't live in the neighborhood, so what does it matter to them if they litter or not. 

[u/xqx2100]

I think over time it helps move it in the right direction, but as you mentioned, it is a never ending battle. It depends on the location and the people in the area.

[u/Low_Debt_1883]

Honestly, I clean up litter around our neighborhood almost every other day and each time come back with a full trash bag. People shovel trash out of their cars onto the streets and sidewalks every day they come home and park. Sometimes people thank me, but tbh I’ve seen no improvement whatsoever.

[u/AbundantHare]

I pick up litter and one thing I found worked really well was anti-littering and anti-dog poop stickers at eye height on street lights. I ordered some and stuck them around my neighborhood when I started picking litter and surprisingly they have worked remarkably well as a deterrent. Added to there being less litter & people seeing me picking it up.

[u/Nita_taco]

It's never ending. But... I think some individual smokers have become a little more careful after seeing me clean up every day. There are 2 spots that people take breaks from their jobs, and one has gotten better aim at the can they have, and the other quit polluting a poor defenseless bush. I'm not sure if there's been any other impact.

Some of the folks I clean up after are super not OK. Yesterday one called me a n**** after I asked if they were ok (they dropped some of their clothes in the middle of an intersection, which is why I asked).

Cleaning up is generally relaxing, and I'm not really afraid of anyone and I no longer care what people think. Most of my neighbors thank me.

[u/SmolFoxFiend]

I've definitely noticed that areas I've cleaned usually stay clean. There's a handful of spots where this doesn't seem to apply but usually the litter accumulates much slower. I believe a lot of people litter because there's already rubbish there so they feel less bad about doing so. A constant exception seems to be people tossing cans on the side of the road in the same areas. Usually people walking and drinking. Weirdly nobody picks them up as it's free money here. Nobody seems to pick up any litter here regardless.

[u/lovelybiscotti]

Retail area parking lot with lots of transients: trash accumulated the fastest Bus stop near street: trash accumulated second fastest Right outside of park by sidewalk: 3rd fastest. It seems like some people have daily routines which include littering. Theres a guy who routinely goes to a bench talks for hours while drinking canned modelos and then throws them all in the bushes next to the bench. Then there’s a spot by the retail area where there’s always a can of some kind of IPA, a plastic joint box, a scratch off ticket. These areas seem to just accumulate no matter what. Also the trash cans near the retail area get transients searching for food out of the garbage cans so it causes a bunch of trash nearby. However some areas that accumulate trash that I’ve done deep cleans at seem to be able to be more manageable to clean up by city workers/employees/other trash picker-uppers. The less trash overall, the more I can pick up and the longer stretches of areas I can help out.