Plastic Litter
Plastic is one of the most common materials found in litter. When plastic enters natural environments, it can cause significant harm to animals, humans, and the environment.
Littering occurs both on land and at sea and is a sustainability challenge in several aspects. Animals may become entangled in larger plastic debris and get injured, while smaller plastic fragments can pose risks to both animals and humans. Municipalities face high costs to clean up urban and coastal areas. Furthermore, littered environments are often perceived as unsafe and may contribute to additional littering and vandalism.
Litter is a source of microplastics
Littering and the volume of plastic waste continue to increase. Larger plastic items gradually break down into smaller fragments and eventually become tiny particles known as microplastics. Microplastics have been detected from high mountain ranges to the deepest parts of the ocean, it is found everywhere, but we still know very little about their long‑term impacts.
One of the biggest threats to biodiversity
The majority of litter in our marine environments comes from land and is transported via stormwater and streams into lakes and seas. Plastic litter is one of the largest threats to marine biodiversity. Every year both birds and mammals around the world die after getting stuck in or from eating plastic found in oceans.
Plastic in the marine environment can also be transported to new areas where it may threaten sensitive ecosystems. Litter additionally causes damage to fishing gear and vessels.
Two thirds of all litter originate from plastic
Through a litter survey in 2025, nine out of ten litter items were single‑use products of various kinds. Cigarette butts accounted for 46 percent when measured as items per 10 m², nearly half of all recorded litter.
The survey also showed that two‑thirds of the litter found on streets, town squares, and in parks consists of plastic. The most common category of plastic besides cigarette butts is flexible packaging, which includes wrappers for sweets, ice cream, and snacks, as well as plastic‑coated paper such as hamburger wrappers.
Cigarette butts and snuff most common forms of litter
- Cigarette butts 46%
- Portioned snuff, 23%
- Flexible packaging 8%
(measured by number, as a percentage of total litter)
Most common material for litter
- Plastic 63%
- Other materials, such as portioned snuff 24%, paper and cardboard account for 5%
- Metal 4%
- Glass 3%
(measured in numbers, a percentage of total amount litter)
The 2025 litter survey shows that littering has decreased from 4.86 to 3.39 pieces of litter per 10 square metres, corresponding to a 30 percent reduction compared with 2023.