Publication Summary

The goal of the Washington State Litter Study is to produce unbiased information about litter in Washington State and the people who generate it. Specifically, this study provides data on: - The distribution, amount, and composition of litter; - Who is most likely to generate litter; - Why those Washington residents who litter engage in this behavior; and -What prevention strategies could be employed to reduce the amount of litter.

The goal of the Washington State Litter Study is to produce unbiased information about litter in Washington State and the people who generate it. Specifically, this study provides data on: - The distribution, amount, and composition of litter; - Who is most likely to generate litter; - Why those Washington residents who litter engage in this behavior; and -What prevention strategies could be employed to reduce the amount of litter.

The current study relied on three different methods to gather data about littering: - Field research and sampling to determine the generation rate and the composition of litter along roads and in selected public areas in Washington; - Focus groups targeting admitted or potential litterers, designed to collect qualitative data regarding why Washington residents litter and to investigate prevention strategies; and - A Telephone survey of the general population to collect quantitative data regarding the types of people and situations that create littering behavior, and to test litter prevention messages.

This report summarizes the results obtained through the telephone survey and includes a comparison of those results with the findings from the focus groups. The detailed findings of the focus groups are presented in another report, as are results from the field research and sampling plan. The key findings from all three parts of the project (focus groups, telephone survey and field research) are presented in a final report.

Data Analysis Tables on available in hard copy.