THE MYSTERY

Have you ever waited at an intersection, looked at the curb, and thought about the litter lying there? Where do all those cigarette butts, candy wrappers, chip bags and soda cans come from? How did they get there? Where do they go?

The source of all that litter is people: a cigarette butt carelessly tossed into the street or a candy wrapper blown away by the wind. The litter does not come from one person or one place. It comes from many different people and different places. Eventually, that litter and other debris handled by people can find its way to the local creek, stream, pond or river and even the ocean.

The purpose of this guide is to help explain these and other water pollution mysteries and to suggest choices that you can make to reduce water pollution.