2002 Hispanic Litter Survey—Fact Sheet

2002 HISPANIC LITTER SURVEY—FACT SHEET

KEY FINDINGS OF DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS HISPANIC RESEARCH

CURRENT LITTERING BEHAVIOR

Admit to littering in the last three months:

  • More than 30 percent of Hispanic Texans
  • 19.3 percent of Texans in the General Market
“GROSS LITTERERS”

(those who have discarded major items such as cans, bottles, and fast food trash)

  • 9 percent of Hispanic Texans
  • Just over 5 percent of Texans in the General Market
“MICRO LITTERERS”

(those who have have discarded minor items such as cigarette butts, candy wrappers and paper)

  • 21 percent of Hispanic Texans
  • 14 percent of Texans in the General Market are Micro Litterers.

PROFILE OF A LITTERER

The profile of a Hispanic litterer in Texas is similar, but not identical, to the profile of a litterer in the General Market. In both cases, age is the single most significant predictor of littering behavior.

The typical Hispanic litterer in Texas is:

  • 16-29 years old (25- to 29-year-olds are twice as likely to be Micro Litterers)
  • bilingual
  • a partier (goes to parties/bars more than twice a week)
  • male

The typical General Market litterer in Texas is:

  • 16-24 years old
  • a smoker
  • a partier (goes to parties/bars more than twice a week)
  • single
  • a consumer of fast food

AWARENESS AND ATTITUDES ABOUT LITTERING

Eighty-five percent of Hispanic Texans think littering is a problem in Texas.

Those who are aware of the Don’t Mess with Texas campaign:

  • 88 percent of Hispanic Texans
  • 95 percent of Texans in the General Market

Those who can identify the correct meaning of Don’t Mess with Texas:

  • 61 percent of unilingual Spanish Hispanic Texans
  • 78 percent of bilingual Hispanics
  • 80 percent of unilingual English Hispanics
  • 75 percent of Texans in the General Market

Would like to see the Don’t Mess with Texas litter prevention campaign continue:

  • 95 percent of Hispanic Texans
  • 90 percent of Texans in the General Market

All data for Hispanic Texans generated through 2002 survey. Data for General Market Texans generated through 2001 survey. Both studies were conducted by NuStats Research.

The 2002 survey was conducted with 1,202 Hispanic residents of the state of Texas using a random digit dial (RDD) sample consisting of both listed and unlisted telephone numbers. Within the group, respondents were broken into three categories based on language spoken at home—unilingual English, unilingual Spanish and bilingual—with 400 participants from each category.

The 2001 survey was conducted with 868 residents of the state of Texas where households were selected at random from a geographically balanced sample, stratified by area code. Adults over the age of 16 were eligible for the first survey of 818 and a second survey was conducted with 50 respondents between the ages of 16 and 24, again selected at random from a geographically balanced sample stratified by area code.