The Environmental Impact of Littering in NYC: A Growing Problem
By Angus Jackson
The issue of littering perturbs all of NYC’s streets, parks, and waterways. While one piece of litter on the street may appear to be an inconvenience or eyesore, the environmental impact of littering in NYC extends far beyond that one piece. The consequences are widespread—they endanger the lives of animals, pollute and harm natural spaces, and even affect the city's rivers.
One repercussion of littering on the environment is its effect on wildlife. Birds, squirrels, and other animals can mistake litter for food; upon finding a piece of trash, local animals can easily choke on or become entangled in the litter. Marine animals like fish and turtles that live in or around the city may ingest plastic debris: scientists have found that marine life can mistake plastic bottles and wrappers for food, leading to suffocation or poisoning. These incidents disrupt the natural food chain, hurting ecosystems in ways we might not immediately recognize.
If you’ve ever walked through Central Park, Van Cortlandt Park, or any of the city’s other green spaces, you’ve probably come across litter like bottles, food wrappers, and cigarette butts. These pieces of litter in parks undermine the natural beauty of NYC’s green spaces. As a result, the parks become less enjoyable for New Yorkers. However, the litter not only damages the beauty of the park but also the condition of the park as well: certain types of litter, like plastic and metal, can take years or centuries to decompose, and in some cases, harmful chemicals from litter can leach into the soil which contaminate the park land. So while the trash might sit there in a pile, it’s silently damaging the soil and affecting plant life.
Another consequence of littering in New York City is its impact on NYC’s rivers. The city's rivers, including the Hudson and East Rivers, are vital to local animals. But litter tossed on the ground eventually reaches these waterways; rainwater washes trash into storm drains, which can get dumped into the rivers during larger rainfalls. Once in the water, litter can affect water quality, harming aquatic life and making the water less safe for human use. Studies have shown that pollutants from litter can damage aquatic ecosystems, decreasing oxygen levels and causing harmful algae blooms that threaten marine biodiversity.
While littering is a huge problem in the city, it’s also one that can be reversed. If everyone in NYC were to properly throw away trash, recycle, and participate in local clean-up efforts, like Pitch iNYC’s Litter Pick Ups, NYC would become cleaner and the effects of littering could be minimized. Currently, the NYC government has implemented several initiatives to combat littering, like the Zero Waste and Trash Free NYC Waters campaign. But for these initiatives to work, we as New Yorkers need to remember that keeping the city clean is a job all of us should pitch in on.
Sources Used:
Ocean Pollution and Marine Debris - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA):
https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts/ocean-pollution
Why Trash is a Public Health Issue - New York City Environment and Health:
https://a816-dohbesp.nyc.gov/IndicatorPublic/data-stories/sanitation/
Environmental Issues in Urban Parks - Inside Climate News: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22062024/new-york-underfunded-parks/