Littering
 

Anyone have views on this? I always want to say something to anyone I see dropping litter in the street, but I'm always afraid I'll get my head punched in, which I probably would, so I say nothing. But it boils me up that people can't be bothered to dispose of their refuse in a socially responsible manner, ie not just throw it on the ground. I watch people regularly drop trash when they are literally yards from a bin. I've seen a girl (youngish, but not a kid) in town throw a nearly full bottle of water I guess across the far side of the street and nearly skull someone. I've seen another girl at the bus stop decide she has had enough of what she's been drinking and fire the bottle out onto the road. I don't mean just drop it, she flung it with strength. It could easily have hit a car, or someone passing or crossing the road.

What is wrong with people? If lateness is a discourtesy to others, then surely being a litterbug is the ultimate contempt for the planet and for your fellow humans? Would you drop litter at home? Well maybe you do, but I bet you pick it up later: nobody wants to live in a pigsty. But the streets seem to be fair game.

I was brought up to make sure I put litter in the bin (that's what it's for) and if I can't find a bin I'll usually stick whatever it is in my pocket or bag till I do find one, or even take it home and put it in my own bin. The casual arrogance of people just dropping half-eaten burgers, wrappers, bottles, cans etc on the street just because they could not be bothered to find a bin disgusts me.

By the way, I don't include cigarette butts or chewing gum in this tirade. I don't expect anyone to keep their cigarette end in their hand or put it in their pocket until they find a bin, and I guess it's the same with gum, which is basically a temporary product, ie you spit it out eventually. I'm not mad about it being on the ground but it doesn't bother me, or look as unsightly to me, as piles of refuse dropped there by uncaring, ignorant people.

Thoughts?

Littering is bad. /thread

Not meant to be taken as a defense of littering, as it certainly is poor behavior, but surely referring to littering as the "ultimate contempt for the planet and your fellow humans" is an exaggeration. It would be laughable to compare the impact of tossing a bottle into the street to burning down massive rain forest habitats in the name of industry, or any of the other far more significant environmental sins of Corporation X or Y. Correcting some dick's litter by picking it up and throwing it into a nearby trash bin is an undeserved burden, but it is still an easy task, and plenty of people do pick up after others without a second thought. That's not to say we should all litter because somebody else will deal with it, but I'm hardly losing sleep over somebody tossing their McDonald's cheeseburger wrapper out their window, I'm not going to demand they be thrown in the slammer over it, at the most I'll call them a cocksucker and throw it in the trash myself.

Louis CK said it best when he said that littering in New York City is not a crime against nature because nature left New York City a long time ago. Excluding Central Park of course.

Ja I'm with Epoch. It's bad but I'm pretty apathetic about the whole situation.

I only hold contempt for people disposing of trash in Nature preserves and places where I hike. Cities are virtual ****holes for the most part, but people should still dispose of trash where its designated. Street sweepers were invented for a reason.

I find it equally irritating, particularly when people litter in the ONE PARK in my town that actually has a proper forest--small though it may be-- and trails. (I've been going there since I was a child, so I become infuriated when people leave piles of trash in my favorite clearing or spray paint one of my favorite trees) Or when they leave beer bottles in creeks and rivers, or anything which could possibly be dangerous for all the little critters and duck families. I never manage to catch those who do it-- and the litter is often in places which seem impossible to get to (heavier things that can't be blown by the wind even), so perhaps there's some litterbug cryptids out there.

However, many people are simply considerate regardless of where they are. I do always pick up what I what I see, though (seeing as it takes very little effort to do so.), while trying my best not to mutter and grumble about it. I have been accused of being the Fern Gully of suburbia. (Once I mistakenly thought that they had torn down the trees around my favorite clearing-- they were doing construction nearby, and I couldn't quite see what exactly-- and I had a brief crying fit about it.)
I notice that many people who litter everywhere constantly also tend to do similar things to their indoor environments-- and it all seems to come back to being generally inconsiderate and seeing every place as an extension of their bubble of squalor.

Of course, oftentimes it's children and teenagers doing the littering-- and every time, their parents don't seem to bat an eye or tell them otherwise, so I suppose many continue doing it out of habit even when there is a trash can a mere five feet away.

I don't throw garbage willy nilly, but cigarette butts were meant to be casually tossed wherever.

Probably a bit hyperbolic yes, but it really pisses me off.
yeah, I already said I didn't include cigarette butts.

I wasn't about to read all that ****.

Why wouldn't cigarette butts be counted as litter?

Obviously they're litter, but **** it cause smokers are the next gen humans and you all are just lucky to be in the presence of our trash.

I'd also like to mention the annoyance of people not picking up after their dogs on the trails I hike regularly. Even if it's not where someone's going to step in it, a pile of dog crap is not part of nature. Dogs running all over the place off leash are bad enough.

I've made it a habit now to save my butts and wait til I'm near a trash can. I just tear the excess ash and **** off the filter so that my pocket doesn't turn into a bowling alley ash tray.

Once at my local disc golf course I was so in need of a place to **** that I took a dump in the woods that remained for at least several months. No regrets.

.

Exactly! The supermarket I go to is pretty much kept in immaculate order on the inside, but the outside is another story. The entrance is not only littered with dozens of butts, the concreted is stained with ash from both employees and customers smoking outside, cause you know by law they can't smoke inside. Even the cigarette receptacle is half melted cause it catches on fire constantly. Flicking a cigarette butt after smoking seems innocuous but I wonder how much money is wasted by businesses by constantly having employees spend time cleaning them up.

Even though its not a consumer goods byproduct another thing Trollheart failed to mention is dog ****. I think someone not curbing their dog is the worse, if you don't agree then definitely in the top five of littering offenses. Three things no one wants step into is dog ****, gum and broken glass. I would say banana peels too but you don't step into it, you step on it. And no one wants to step on a banana peel, if you slip on it it can put a serious hurting in you when you land on your arse.

Gum is pretty bad too cause unlike a half eaten hamburger, which could end up as a meal for a hungry stray down, or maybe a pesky badger, gum on concrete never goes away. Minus one point for dogs shutting on the curb, plus one point for taken care of that hamburger that annoyed Trollheart. I don't know why Trollheart didn't mention gum. You can pick up trash, you can sweep up litter, gum is nearly impossible to get rid of. Besides that little caveat, I think the OP was on point.

**** principles.

They are, of course. All I said is that, as a non-smoker, I wouldn't expect people to hold on to a cigarette butt till they get to a bin. Also, you better make sure it's out or that bin is gonna go on fire. I said I don't like it, but I would see it as the lesser of the evils. It's ugly yes, but not so much as rotting food sitting in the street.
Well fair play to you, Exo. Going above and beyond. :clap:
These are obviously bad too. I don't see as much of the dog**** these days though. I think people are beginning to, literally, clean up their act. Glass is bad, but if you drop a glass item I can see why nobody would hang around trying to clean it up. Chances are you would cut yourself. Also, I seldom see glass on the ground, unless a window has been broken, in which case it will be cleaned up by whosever window was broken.
But the comedy value can't be overstated. :laughing:
Hungry stray + free burger = dog****. Don't see how that's a win. Nobody's gonna clean up the **** of a stray. And we don't have badgers here. Not in the cities anyway.
I did mention gum, gave that a pass too. In 45-odd years walking on Dublin streets I think I've trodden on gum half a dozen times, plus there are now hefty fines for dropping gum. Ad campaigns and everything. Also, it was not an exhaustive or exclusive list in the OP; I was just giving examples.

Came in to post this.

I'd like to see that girl do an update of this video but for dog ****.

Stray dogs are more prone to behave like wild animal. It's more likely that they'll do their business on grass or dirt and finish up by kicking dirt over it, to hide anything thing that will draw attention to predators. Remember they are not on leash so they can go wherever they want.

i hate littering https://boxden.com/smilies/7tbnjnj.png

^ stupidest thing ever

Maddox is the **** though. I used to have his Alphabet of Manliness book until my friend borrowed it and never returned it like a douche.

I've always considered you to be basically a Maddox clone.

With good reason.

How do you return something like a douche?

I think it's liberating to litter. I love the I don't give **** feeling you get when you toss an empty in the ocean or a river or whatever.

Wet.

lulz I feel the same way about smoking.

It's funny because if you're with other people first they'll be like WTF but it's like beef jerky everybody loves to litter once they get going.

Like beef jerky huh

Yep

Ain't nobody don't like it

Beef jerky is amazing and I could eat it for hours with beer and Buffy.

Maybe if you're not eating gas station jerky.

I stand in awe of your edginess.

I don't litter for fun, but I understand the feeling. Society has so many little rules of conduct and taboos that can be oppressive and ridiculous that little rebellions can feel good.

Try it. It'll make your nuts tingle.

When you finish consuming whatever product and you're left with the trash you're polluting the earth whatever the **** you do with it.

Littering: creating jobs since whenever.

There's nothing good about you.