Litter on North Capitol Street in DC. Image by Mike Maguire licensed under Creative Commons.

When people litter, their trash regularly makes its way from sidewalks and ditches into waterways, where it eventually begins to break down. The resulting microplastics leach harmful chemicals which can sicken, alter, or kill aquatic creatures, which can in turn cause negative ripple effects for other animals and humans alike.

However, many people don’t understand how the plastic they consume and throw out the car window can harm the natural world around them. That’s why jurisdictions in the Washington region are using an array of strategies to educate residents, and to halt illegal dumping and the pollution it causes.

Prince George’s County has launched a series of public education efforts targeting residents with information on exactly how they can become more environmentally conscious. “We do flyers, emails, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,” said litter reduction program manager for Prince George’s County Tiaa Rutherford.

Trash in the C&O Canal. Image by Caitlin Faw used with permission.

How does trash cause harm?

In a book published by Island Press titled Plastic Soup, Michiel Roscam Abbing writes that the average American produces “the better part of 85 kilograms of plastic waste per year,” and that given current growth rates of global plastic production the world will move from 8.3 billion tons of plastics in 2017 to 34 billion tons in 2050.

These plastics leach out chemicals that can mess with our hormones, which are essential to the body’s ability to regulate itself. Research indicates that ingesting even low doses of chemicals from plastic—found in our water and in the animals that drink and live in it—can cause serious harm over the years, such as an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and problems with reproductive development.

On a recent visit to the Navy Yard area of the Anacostia River, I saw plastic water bottles strewn along its banks. Image by the author.

In an effort to address the problem, the US Clean Water Act requires states and jurisdictions across the country to establish standards for regulating the quality of surface waterways by a measure known as a TMDL. TMDL stands for “total maximum daily load,” and refers to the maximum amount of trash and pollutants deemed “safe” for entry into a waterway.

Unlike other regions, the District has what is known as a “narrative water quality standard,” according to Matt Robinson, who works at the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) on ways to reduce litter from entering local waterways. This standard says “the Anacostia or any of the District’s water bodies should be free of trash and debris that cause an unsightly or hazardous nuisance.”

Because of this, Robinson said local governments and nonprofits collaborated to establish what he described as a “backwards TMDL,” one that establishes how much trash needs to be removed or prevented from making its way into local waterways. However, such a standard relies on the expectation that trash will enter local bodies of water, even though it should not be there in the first place.

What else can help?

Only 9% of the world’s plastic gets recycled. Most of it ends up in landfills or as litter that eventually ends up in bodies of water, according to an article published in National Geographic last year. That’s why it’s best to avoid plastic in the first place, especially single-use plastics like to-go containers.

Many local organizations are also tackling litter through community trash clean ups. No matter how many clean ups are organized however, it seems there’s never a shortage of trash. While community cleanups are helpful, Robinson said they are like “band-aids,” and are likely be something “we will be doing in perpetuity” unless people change their behaviors and attitudes towards polluting.

Kayak river cleanup at Four Mile Run. Image by Kevin Beekman used with permission.

John Erzen, the deputy chief of staff for Prince George’s County executive Angela Alsobrooks, said in a recent interview that communities owe it to future generations to protect the environment. “Don’t throw your trash out your car window while you’re driving down the street,” he said.

To that end, Prince George’s County has launched a beautification campaign aimed at tackling litter since May of 2019. The county also rolled out a litter tracking app called PGCLitterTRAK which residents can use to track and report on their own efforts for cleaning up litter, and has posted new ads at bus stops, metro stations, and on mobile applications like Waze for drivers commuting through their county.

People need to take the time to educate themselves on the harm caused by their own pollution: “Even if you dump it [an unwanted couch] down a dark, dirt road, you have to know what a detriment to the environment that is,” Rutherford said, referring to the practice of illegal dumping.

The only way Rutherford believes people will change their harmful behaviors is if they constantly practice being environmentally conscious.