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Roads

Roadways

Many items of litter are found on and around roadways. This may occur due to:

  1. people littering from car windows, or leaving waste at rest areas
  2. improperly secured items falling from utes, cars and trucks
  3. debris from car accidents
  4. rubber from tyre blow-outs
  5. people dumping household items by the road, such as green waste, general waste, mattresses, furniture and white goods
  6. people discarding cigarette butts, water bottles, packaging and other rubbish while walking
  7. residents leaving household items on the kerbside not associated with designated council pickups
  8. bins being knocked over by rubbish trucks, cars, wind or animals
  9. poorly delivered junk mail
  10. people throwing food waste on the ground
  11. waste carried by stormwater.
  12. microplastics in road dust including from tyre wear

Roadside littering can be accidental, careless, or intentional. Accidental littering occurs when items end up on the road with no direct intention. Items that fall into the category of negligent or carelessness can include uncovered loads, fliers, newspapers, construction debris, and miscellaneous scraps[2].

Over 95% of roadside litter has been reported to come from four sources: pedestrians (42%), vehicle occupants (20%), uncovered or unsecured loads on trucks (21%), and open vehicle beds where items had been improperly stowed (14%)[3].

Findings from a study examining the presence of microplastics in road dust along an urban to rural transect within South-East Queensland showed that concentrations ranged from ~0.5 mg/g in a rural site to 6 mg/g in Brisbane city, with 29% each consisting of polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene terephthalate. There was a strong relationship between the concentration of microplastics in road dust and the volume of vehicles on the road. This highlights that microplastics are a major source of debris identified on Queensland roads and are worse in urban areas[2].

In 2018, the Queensland Government studied littering and illegal dumping along Gillies Range Road near Cairns. Waste material was found on roads, in pullover facilities and in the World Heritage-listed forest adjoining the road. Types of items found included whitegoods, cars, tyres, mattresses, plastic buckets, cardboard, metal drums and general waste (including a large numbers of drink containers)[1].

Another study compiled a significant dataset of littering and dumping activity in South West Queensland’s Darling Downs and Surat Basin areas. The study found 27 litter types and more than 4000 individual items. Food and drink-related products were the most common items, followed by vehicle items (car seats, broken mirrors, glass etc.) and cigarettes. The dominant material type was plastic, followed by glass[3].

Roads waste moves through the environment via four pathways:

Air
Water
Mechanical
Biological

Management Interventions suitable for roadways include:

Rural

This waste pollution may result from:

  1. people littering from car windows, or leaving waste at rest areas
  2. improperly secured items falling from utes, cars and trucks
  3. debris from car accidents
  4. rubber from tyre blow-outs
  5. people dumping household items by the road, such as green waste, general waste, mattresses, furniture and white goods
  6. people discarding cigarette butts, water bottles, packaging and other rubbish while walking
  7. residents leaving household items on the kerbside not during council pickups
  8. bins being knocked over by rubbish trucks, cars, wind or animals
  9. poorly delivered junk mail
  10. people throwing food waste on the ground
  11. waste carried by stormwater.

In 2018, the Queensland Government studied littering and illegal dumping along Gillies Range Road near Cairns. Waste material was found on roads, in pullover facilities and in the World Heritage-listed forest adjoining the road. Types of items found included whitegoods, cars, tyres, mattresses, plastic buckets, cardboard, metal drums and general waste (including a large numbers of drink containers).

Another study compiled a significant dataset of littering and dumping activity in South West Queensland’s Darling Downs and Surat Basin areas. The study found 27 litter types and more than 4000 individual items. Food and drink-related products were the most common items, followed by vehicle items (car seats, mirrors etc.) and cigarettes. The dominant material type was plastic, followed by glass.

Roads waste moves through the environment via four pathways:

Air
Water
Mechanical
Biological

Management Interventions suitable for rural roads include:

References

  1. ^ Gillies Range Road Litter and Illegal Dumping Prevention Project Report (2020). [online], Department of Environment and Science. Available at: https://www.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/118423/gillies-range-prevention-project.pdf.
  2. ^ a b O’Brien, S, Okoffo, ED, Rauert, C, O’Brien, JW, Ribeiro, F, Burrows, SD, Toapanta, T, Wang, X & Thomas, KV (August 2021), 'Quantification of selected microplastics in Australian urban road dust', Journal of Hazardous Materials. [online], vol. 416, p. 125811. Available at: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0304389421007755 [Accessed 9 April 2025].
  3. ^ a b South West Region Roadside Litter Prevention Pilot Project (2015). [online], Department of Environment and Heritage Protection. Available at: https://www.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0030/68268/litter-campaign-report.pdf.

Last updated: 14 April 2025

This page should be cited as:

Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, Queensland (2025) Roads, WetlandInfo website, accessed 8 May 2025. Available at: https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/wetlands/management/pressures/litter-illegal-dumping/sources/roads/

Queensland Government
WetlandInfo   —   Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation