People do many different things with their rubbish in public places.

Some actions involve putting stuff in bins, cleaning up and getting others to do the right thing while other actions damage the environment, create health hazards and make work for others to clean up.

We discovered various types of disposal behaviour after making over 95,000 observations of what people actually did with their unwanted items in malls, beaches, parks, transport stops, markets and outside public buildings. We identified 9 positive behaviours and 11 negative ones.

You are welcome to use these cartoons but please use this acknowledgement:

Copyright Community Change, 2003, Cartoonist Kerry Millard.

Positive Disposal Behaviours

Chasing

Running after litter which has blown away

Coaching

Prompting others to do the right thing

Do-It-Yourselfing

Bringing your own containers to take items home for reuse, recycling, composting or disposal

Intervening

Suggesting others pick up litter they have dropped

Marshalling

Coordinating people to work together to clean up

The Assist

A pick-up if a ‘foul shot’ misses

Trail blazing

Going out of your way to find a bin when there isn’t one nearby

Volunteering

Cleaning up after someone else

Compacting

Stuffing items into an over full bin, even if your hands get dirty

Negative Disposal Behaviours

90%ing

Most items are put in the bin but some are left behind

Flagrant flinging

Throwing or dropping items with no apparent concern

Foul shooting

A missed throw at a litter bin

Grinding

Grinding items into the ground & leaving them there

Underseating

Placing items under the seat at sporting stadiums, cinemas or events

Undertaking

Items are buried, often in the sand at the beach

Wedging

Items are stuffed into gaps between seats and other places

Brimming

Going half way by putting butts and gum on the bin rim but not all the way inside

Clean sweeping

When arriving at a table where others have littered, sweeping items onto the ground

Improvising

Putting items in objects that are not bins (cardboard boxes, plastic bags or beverage containers) & then leaving them behind

Surreptitious releasing

Discretely littering and moving away as if nothing had happened