12445_doi_deposit 20220828080000 assa nadiag@assaf.org.za assa South African Journal of Science S. Afr. J. Sci 1996-7489 08282022 118 Special issue: WaaR Catherina Schenck DSI/NRF/CSIR Chair in Waste and Society, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5299-5335 Lizette Grobler DSI/NRF/CSIR Chair in Waste and Society, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1447-6352 Derick Blaauw School of Economic Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8750-4946 Charlotte M. Nell Aquila Environmental, Cape Town, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3657-2655 Littering has been defined as the careless and improper disposal of small amounts of waste that results in unwanted and unnatural elements remaining in the environment. People tend to blame external factors for their own littering. A person seldom refers to themselves as being the litterer but will rather place the blame on insufficient infrastructure, such as lack of bins, or on other persons. When referring to other people, they identify problematic behaviour and personal traits such as ignorance, naivety, need for convenience, laziness and inattentiveness as causes of littering. This study addressed the gap in the literature on the socially constructed perceptions people hold about reasons for littering in the South African context, as subjectively perceived reasons for littering may correspond with actual causes and could point towards options for tackling the littering problem. Five lower socio-economic areas in South Africa – particularly those that experience major infrastructural challenges – were included in the study. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were held with 322 residents from the respective areas. The data were thematically analysed and the results from the areas compared with each other. The cross-case analysis confirmed that littering is contingent on contextual effects, and unique reasons for littering in the South African context were mentioned. The research reported on in this study highlights that we have only thematically ‘identified’ or named the socially constructed perceptions about the reasons for littering by the participants. The importance of creating platforms and processes for dialogues to deepen our understanding of people’s socially constructed perceptions and subsequent behaviour, is of critical importance. 08312022 1 10.17159/sajs.2016/crossmark sajs.co.za false 2021-09-24 2022-07-19 2022-08-31 Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001332 CSIR/IU/WRIU/2018/019 Department of Science and Innovation, South Africa http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100016962 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 10.17159/sajs.2022/12445 20220828080000 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/12445 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/12445/18904 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/12445/18904 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/12445/18904 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/12445/18904 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/12445/18904 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/12445/18904 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/12445/18904