Animals Don’t Litter: How Inverness is Using Signage to Prevent Littering

The Municipality of the County of Inverness has partnered with Celtic Shores Coastal Trail Association to install eye-catching anti littering signs at three trail heads in Inverness County. These signs have been installed at Troy Station, Port Hood Station, and Mabou River aiming to reduce litter along the trails and trailheads while also creating a stronger consciousness of the environmental impact litter has among trail users.

The signs featuring images of local wildlife paired with messages such as, “Animals don’t litter. Be an animal”, seeks to inspire trail users to adopt more eco-friendly habits. This playful yet impactful messaging encourages walkers to take on the responsibility to help preserve the environment and protect the local wildlife by not littering. The signs featuring images by a local photographer of wildlife paired with messages such as, “Animals don’t litter. Be an animal”, seeks to inspire trail users to adopt more eco-friendly habits. This playful yet impactful messaging encourages walkers to take on the responsibility to help preserve the environment and protect the local wildlife by not littering. It also incorporates the lessons learned about behavioural messaging from Divert NS’ research on littering behaviour. 

In the summer of 2023, the Municipality and Trail Association wanted to test whether these signs as well as other trail improvements helped reduce litter. In addition to sign installation, they also removed a waste receptacle at one of the trail heads that was often overflowing and contributing to the litter problem. Monitoring the amount of litter before and after these changes indicated that they did help reduce litter. Monitoring also indicated that the most common type of litter was cigarette butts. This led to a further recommendation to install designated cigarette butt receptacle and messaging about the impact of this type of litter.

The Celtic Shores Coastal Trail Association is 1 of 5 volunteer associations that manages the 92km trail system. The trail system stretches from Port Hastings to the Community of Inverness displaying beautiful views at these popular scenic trails. However, littering can quickly spoil these trails, harming both the ecosystem and the experience for other trail users.

Help keep these trails clean by properly disposing of your garbage or taking it away with you. If you want to read more about the anti-littering study, read the full article here.