Litter

[PIK]

And why do people continue to do it. Everyday I see it on country roads, McDonald, tim hortons and such ,all over the place. So to the people here that litter, why do you do it. Cant people keep it in their vehicle until they get home. Even on the waterways, I pick up garbage and cans floating.

[The_Squid]

And why do people continue to do it. Everyday I see it on country roads, McDonald, tim hortons and such ,all over the place. So to the people here that litter, why do you do it. Cant people keep it in their vehicle until they get home. Even on the waterways, I pick up garbage and cans floating.

Agreed. These people are disrespectful pigs.

Cigarette butts too. It's not only disgusting, but it has started a bunch of fires here. Not only are those people who toss butts on the ground selfish pigs, they're stupid too. Flaming butt + dry grass = fire.

[cybercoma]

Smokes and gum are the worst. People are far too inconsiderate and it goes well beyond littering.

Edited August 10, 2015 by cybercoma

[poochy]

This is one of those things, among many I suppose, that really speaks badly of some humans, it's pure laziness and utter disregard for the planet and everyone else, there is no benefit to littering, it's not like were talking about the cost/benefit of oil extraction, etc. I cant imagine what goes through their minds, perhaps that is the problem, nothing does.

[Freddy]

It's a lack of personal disipline. It takes a lot of parental energy to teach it to our children. It's not a natural instinct.

[PIK]

The inside of my truck is a dump at times because I throw nothing out. Up river from my place is a beautiful sand bar...................covered in cigarette butts.

[eyeball]

I recall this real old school fishermen I worked for nearly 40 years ago. The other deckhand and myself finally managed to convince the old fart that instead of throwing it over the side we could just keep garbage aboard the boat and put it in the dumpster when we got into port. So on the next trip as we were dealing with the last fish on deck and cleaning up, skip was running us in and cleaning up around the wheelhouse. Sure enough we saw our garbage bags being fired over the side. Harve managed to gaff one back aboard and about a thousand gulls got the other one. I just shook my head and Mike said...what?

Anyway...I don't think I recall seeing such consensus amongst the usually antagonistic crew in this thread...so far.

[Bonam]

No excuse for littering. But, a lot of people are just dumb.

As a mountain climber, I follow the "leave no trace" policy when out in the mountains. That means, if you're above treeline, you even have to pack out your own poop. After putting in that kind of effort to leave an unsullied environment, it is sad to drive home along a road and see discarded refuse all alongside it, from people who only needed to keep something in their car until their next gas station stop.

[GostHacked]

I think this is one thing that we can all agree on. Litter is terrible. I hate it, and I've confronted people about it before. Gave a few words to a school girl who could not walk 5 feet to the trash can at the bus stop where she was sitting with friends. Her friends got all in my face and I stood there. I went back to the coffee place I was sitting down at .. moments later the girl came and apologized. I ended off with, 'and this is why there is shit all over the place, look around you'. Hopefully I made an impact.

It's easy to throw the can or bottle on the ground. I do what I can to put it in a proper trash bin. People get upset that we are not doing enough for the environment via carbon pollution and climate change. But yet can't see the problem with litter and straight up pollution, which most of us have encountered and had no questions in our minds as to what it was or the impact of it.

But in the end, littering is something we all seem to agree is terrible and needs to stop.

[Big Guy]

I agree that littering is a problem although I disagree with speaking to people (especially strangers) who litter. To point out to any individual in public that they are doing something wrong is not a good idea. The person will become embarrassed and will probably lash out verbally. This in turn can escalate into a physical confrontation.

A few years I was waiting for the light to change at an intersection in Toronto. There were a bunch of teenaged girls in school uniforms and some adults waiting at the bus stop. One girl threw her empty pop can at the garbage receptacle, came up short and missed. The can rattled to the curb. The girls giggled and made no move. An elderly lady said "excuse me" as she walked through the girls. She hobbled to the can, stooped, picked it up, carried it to the receptacle and dropped it in - and quietly went back to her place in line. The youngsters looked at each other and as I was crossing the intersection they were picking up the rubble around the receptacle and placing it into the container.

I thought that to be a more effective lesson.

Edited August 12, 2015 by Big Guy

[Mighty AC]

I thought that to be a more effective lesson.

A good, non-confrontational, lesson indeed.

A decade ago when I was younger, stronger, less patient, less wise but far more sure of myself I directly confronted a litterer. I was in a drive through line and the car in front of me tossed a bag of garbage plus a couple of drink containers and cans out of their window. I had what felt like an out of body, anger experience. I jumped out of my car, scooped up the garbage and fired the trash back through the window of the car in front of me. The couple, about my age, didn't say a word. They sat there dripping with old soda and covered with garbage, but didn't say a word. Oddly enough they still ordered food and went on their way.

At the time, I considered it a victory....but I don't anymore. They did something wrong, but I acted like a bully. Live and learn I guess.

[Big Guy]

I think the secret is to show others that we are in this together. We live in an area without sidewalks. When my bride walks our dog, she always carries two bags - one for the dog doings and the other for litter. We have a number of people with pets in the area so many others are doing the same thing. Any littering problem appears in the past. Most people actually sweep the curbs in front of their houses.

A number of years ago, I was visiting a school on Toronto where an all day meeting was being held. In the morning, I was being escorted by the chief custodian. We came to a corner of the corridor and he bent down and picked up a small piece of paper. I did congratulate him on how clean the corridors were from any litter. He said he will show me an experiment and dropped the paper back into the corner. After lunch, we again walked the corridors and the piece of litter that he had left had been joined by many other jinks of wrappers etc. He told me that the secret was to remove things as quickly as possible to discourage "garbage growing".

That included graffiti etc from walls.

It must be something about human nature that is seems its ok to drop something to join existing litter.

Edited August 13, 2015 by Big Guy

[Bonam]

It must be something about human nature that is seems its ok to drop something to join existing litter.

If there is already garbage somewhere, then it is not seen as a pristine environment, and further despoiling an already-despoiled environment inherently feels like a much lesser offense than despoiling a pristine environment.

[PIK]

I just give them ''the look'' and pick it up.

[BC_chick]

What's worse, littering or not picking up your dog poo?

On the one side dog poo is biodegradable but on the other, it's way more disgusting should someone step in it or have to pick it up.

Both are gross but I'd go with dog poo because it's just so disgusting.

[August1991]

And why do people continue to do it. Everyday I see it on country roads, McDonald, tim hortons and such ,all over the place. So to the people here that litter, why do you do it. Cant people keep it in their vehicle until they get home. Even on the waterways, I pick up garbage and cans floating.

Don't blame McDonald's or Tim Horton for this.

People throw various types of garbage on roads, not just name brand wrappers. I have seen no-name car batteries left beside a country road.

Why? Because it's easy to do.

=======

There is much talk of "global warming" and "climate change" nowadays. I happen to think that the environment faces far more serious problems, and we must find better ways to protect it.

For example, when people buy a car battery, they should also pay a deposit of say, $100. When they return the battery (for proper disposal), they are refunded their $100 deposit.

IMHO, people must have an incentive to protect the environment - but the incentive must be, as they say, revenue neutral.

Edited October 1, 2015 by August1991

[bush_cheney2004]

Thanks for bumping this thread....I realized that there are times when "littering" is a purposeful strategy to avoid more serious legal entanglements. I had often wondered why people would lazily leave packaging and empty containers of alcoholic beverages at parking locations, even when trash collection receptacles were nearby. Clearly these people were less concerned about littering than open container while driving and underage alcohol possession laws.

Many years ago when it was common to visit the auto salvage (junk) yards to cannibalize parts, it was interesting to note how many smashed up vehicles had empty alcohol containers on the floor or in the trunk.

Edited October 1, 2015 by bush_cheney2004

[On Guard for Thee]

I'm so happy certain members have finally found a topic they can converse on at their level.