Chewing gum and cigarette butts account for a large part of the things Danish people choose to litter

A study of littering involving 17 municipalities shows that things we wrap our lips around are those that we litter most often.

The Keep Denmark Tidy study has found that cigarette butts and chewing gum make up most of the litter, reports public broadcaster DR.
Anne Holm Hansen, head of Keep Denmark Tidy, said the study confirmed that people didn’t believe littering small items was such a big deal.

‘Even small things harm nature, especially when they are thrown away in large quantities,’ Holm Hansen said.
In the western Jutland city of Esbjerg, cigarette butts made up 69 percent of the city’s total waste.

‘We’d really like people to understand that it takes up to five years for a cigarette butt or a piece of chewing gum to break down in nature,’ said Holm Hansen. ‘First of all, it’s ugly, and secondly, it’s our tax money being used to remove it.’

Similar measurements will be made every six months so that cities and Keep Denmark Tidy can see the results of various projects aimed at reducing the nation’s waste problem.