Litteracy: Creative International No-Littering Signs

Signs of our trashy times? This selection of creative international No-Littering signs highlight different attitudes towards littering around the world.

We’d say this Scottish no-littering sign had a “Monopoly” on anti-littering graphics but alas, we left our Get Out of Jail Free card at home. Aside from that issue, the sign (such as it is) seen in Elliot, Scotland by Flickr member Toxic Web would appear to be highly effective – do you see even one scrap of litter in the area? Must be the ominous “or else” hanging over potential litterbugs’ heads.

Litteracy: Creative International No-Littering Signs

This attention-grabbing floor sign from Chuo City, Japan seems to imply that smoking and littering at the same time is forbidden. So, like, if you’re gonna smoke, smoke and if you’re gonna litter, then litter… just don’t do both together. Yeah, that’s the ticket… and good luck telling that to the judge. Flickr member DocChewbacca snapped the snazzy sign in July of 2008.

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Here’s another Japanese anti-littering sign, from Tokyo’s bustling Shinjiku district. The wording employs a pun only Japanese-speakers would understand: the admonishment “Dame da zou!” (“Don’t do it!”) includes the word “zou”, which also means “elephant”. Put that junk in your trunk, y’all!

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There’s more than one way to skin a cat – can we still say that? If that’s not PC, let’s just state there are many ways to get attention and the Swiss city of Dietikon has employed one of the oldest on the above no-littering sign. To quote those eminent musical sages ZZ Top, “she’s got legs… and she knows how to use them.”