The Keep Australia Beautiful National Litter Index (NLI) commenced in its current format in 2005-06, and is a source of reliable base line data information on litter across Australia.
NLI counts are conducted in November and May each year, covering 983 sites in urban and near-urban areas.
These sites are divided into eight site types: beaches, car parks, highways, industrial, recreational parks, residential, retail and shopping centres.
Each count records all items of litter present, and volumes of litter are then estimated using well established conversion factors. All results are quoted against a 1,000 square metre site that allows for detailed analysis within an established comparative framework.
Seven main material types are incorporated: cigarette butts, glass, illegal dumping, metal, paper/paperboard, plastic and miscellaneous.
An average of 30 cigarette butts per 1,000m² was identified across all national sites during the 2008-09 year. This compares to an overall average number of items of 63. Cigarette butts therefore represent just under 50% of all items by number nationally.
Cigarette butts were frequently identified across all site types, but being so small, contributed only 0.003 litres per 1000m² in volume to the national litter stream.
Cigarette Butts by Number per 1000m²: National Litter Index
|
2005-06
|
2006-07
|
2007-08
|
2008-09
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National |
34
|
35
|
32
|
30
|
| ACT |
n/a
|
36
|
29
|
28
|
| New South Wales |
40
|
34
|
39
|
31
|
| Northern Territory |
n/a
|
30
|
28
|
38
|
| Queensland |
45
|
43
|
36
|
27
|
| South Australia |
24
|
25
|
26
|
19
|
| Tasmania |
27
|
37
|
36
|
38
|
| Victoria |
36
|
41
|
28
|
25
|
| Western Australia |
29
|
35
|
36
|
41
|
While the overall trend has been slowly creeping downwards since 2005-06 (with the exception of a slight rise in 2006-07), cigarette butts are consistently described by Keep Australia Beautiful as the "most pervasive litter item nationally", with butts topping the count in each state and territory.
According to the 2009 Clean Up Australia Day Rubbish Report, cigarette butts were also the most commonly found rubbish item for the 14th year in a row. Butts accounted for 27.0% (down from 29.6% in 2008) of all items in the Top Ten and 15.7% (up from 14.5%) of all items collected. Over 54,000 cigarette butts were picked up across 870 sites across the country as part of Clean Up Day.
While the Clean Up Report is not intended as a definitive tool for analysis of litter or littering behaviour in Australia, it does provide another source of useful information about butt litter.
Research 