Why do people litter? Expert says trash generates trash

Regents Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing Robert Cialdini explains why people litter and the best approach municipalities can take to reduce it.

Regents Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing Robert Cialdini explains that people litter if they see a place with a lot of litter and others littering. He says the best approach municipalities can take to reduce it is to keep cleaning up trash to show a location's clean condition and that it's not an appropriate place to litter.

In this story published March 4, 2021, on ABC 3340 News:

Litter begets litter. When people see other people littering, they feel released to litter themselves. If people see it's a pristine environment, they'll realize it's not OK to litter.

– Robert Cialdini, Regents Professor Emeritus of psychology and marketing