View Full Version : what is considered litter
subaru2222
02-20-2007, 02:44 PM
If I were to have a piece of gum and throw the wrapper which is mostly paper on the ground would that be littler? Yes it is
If I ate a candy bar and threw the wrapper on the ground and you saw me would you say that was littler and would you say I was littering? Yes is the answer
That would be wrong of me to litter like that and I would not do it.
So why when people smoke they chuck the butt on the ground and they think nothing of it? Thats littering right? Walk into the mall doors up by Sobeys and you will see tons of butts on the ground and man do butts stink. There is a stand up thing and one on the wall to put the butts in but most people I see do not use it. Why well maybe they are so out of breath from smoking they can't walk 10 feet to put the butt in it? Just my guess. So smokers stink up the air and the ground at the same time. Ok so not 100% of the smokers do this but from what I see at least half or more do. Just from what I see at that one door so I cant say about other locations but I'm sure its the same.
Plus I see people rub there cig on the wall of the mall and then put it in their pocket for later. Well one good thing they did not litter at that time but I'm sure when they light that old half smoked butt later they will chuck it on the ground then. I don't smoke but if you lite an old butt and smoked it would it not taste 10 times worse?
My point to this all is:
1) Smokers please don't litter
2) Smoke stinks
3) The butts on the ground smell and look terrible
Just my point of view all those points are 100% true at least at that one door to the mall. I saw it with my own eyes so it really did happen so nobody can post that certain not all smoker litter don't litter and well we all know that smoke stinks, and that smell must get in the smokers hair when they put their hand but their head. Watch out if you use hair spray don't want to catch that on fire.
I look forward to your post on where else you see smokers litter and oh yes I too see non smokers or at least they were not smoking at the time litter too.
care1978
02-20-2007, 02:55 PM
actually chippers dont tast worse, i am a smoker, but i do see your point and it is a good 1, i will have to train myself to be more aware of what im doing woth my cig butts, never really crossed my mind until now, honestly. :)
Dan_Man
02-20-2007, 03:52 PM
Good point subaru! I see cigarette butts littered in front of many stores and it also makes me mad that some smokers are too lazy to put their butts in the "butt trash".
Good to see that your message got through to care1978 :)
The_Dave
02-20-2007, 03:54 PM
Subaru it is a good point and it is littering, but man you are on here always bashing smokers. Give it up. We all know better. It is us not you so give it up. I put my butts in the butt stops.
it's good that you do Dave, but this particular subject hasn't been posted, at least in a while.
I don't like seeing them thrown out of cars. Every car I know of has an ash tray for that...
amethyst
02-20-2007, 04:05 PM
i don't smoke outside around public places...so my cig butts go in my car ASHTRAY. that's what it's for.
I've also seen people empty thier ash trays in the middle of parking lots...
new424
02-20-2007, 04:13 PM
I don't like seeing them thrown out of cars. Every car I know of has an ash tray for that...
Just wanted to point out, that many new cars no longer come with ashtrays and cigarette lighters. If I would have wanted an ashtray and lighter in my 2006 car I would have had to pay extra.....they're included in the "options list" now lol
6sixstring6
02-20-2007, 04:34 PM
Very creative Subaru. A nice back door approach for another one of your anti smoking threads.
But I agree whole heartedly with you. Did you ever stop to think that if we laid all the smokers end to end around the world 2/3 of them would drown?
subaru2222
02-20-2007, 04:36 PM
Sometimes a little humor might help get the point across. And The_Dave if smokers did not litter their butts I would not have posted this. I do not make them litter I just pointed it out in my post. Why cant I state the truth?
And the _Dave you said "Give it up. We all know better. It is us not you so give it up" Yes it is you that smokes but the smell and litter affect us all so we have an opinion on that. You can smoke all you want but when it affects all of us we do have a say in it. Don't you agree?
So if I said drinking excessively is wrong would that be bashing all drinkers? Or that ALL DRUNK DRIVING deaths can be avoided by not drinking and driving. No I am not bashing drinkers only the ones that drink and drive. So I am not bashing all smokers just the ones that litter. And care1978 thank you for your post a post like that always makes my day. You are very understanding and I thank you for that.
Dynamic
02-20-2007, 05:24 PM
People make chooses in life, some good and some bad. Some of us choose to live in the a city with an oil refinery pumping tonnes of sulfur and want not into the air that we breath and smell every day, we sit in our cars in traffic and inhale the exhaust from the buses and cars, and we drive by Marsh Creek in august and inhale that wonderful smell. Some dip themselves in a vat of perfume without thinking about the people that are sent sensitive. The world is filled with offensive orders and we choose to live with them but we also have a right to express our feelings about them. But sometimes we take it to a point where it becomes nagging…. If I had to pick between walking by a few buts on the ground or Marsh Creek on a hot summer day I would gladly take the buts on the ground .
The_Dave
02-20-2007, 05:34 PM
subaru you can say whatever you want, that is what this forum is for and I would be the first to defend you if someone said otherwise, as long as you are within the rules of course, but really, we smokers know what we have gotten ourselves into. We no longer smoke inside anywhere and are relegated to specific areas, all of which I agree with. If I want to stink of cigarette smoke that is my business. It is a free world. I don't complain when people wear their colognes or perfumes which to me personally stink to high heaven, make my eyes water and burn and sometimes take my breath away ( although that could be the smokes) the point is we smokers who care about non smokers will always respect you, but you and I know there will always be some who don't and won't. Just as the ones who wear their stinky colognes or perfumes, there will be some who respect scent free areas like workplaces and some who won't. Or what about people who don't clean themselves properly and smell of body odour, or the mechanic getting off work and walks by you in the mall smelling of oil and grease, or the girl who works at the beauty salon and smells like hair dye chemicals, or the butcher who smells of dead meat, or the person who works the horse stables at the track. I could go on and on. Where do YOU draw the line. You cannot control how people smell.
As for the littering I agree with you, but I see just as much litter from Tims and MCd's and other fast food places as I do cigarette butts.
We all know you hate smoking and smokers. Point taken and made. You need a new topic.
I am not trying to offend you but this subject is growing tiresome, we are not breaking any laws, one day the world may be smoke free and I hope soon I will be or I will be dead, but for now it is legal, leave us alone.
care1978
02-20-2007, 05:40 PM
i didnt realize that he was trying to tell you to quit smoking "The_Dave" ; I thought his complaint was about butting out anywhere and everywhere other than where people are supposed to, it sounds to me like you have an issue or two with other people's oppinions regardless of what it is, i thought it was quite humorous that YOU are criticizing him for bashing smokers, when you bash anybody and everybody that is on assistance, you should really be practicing what you preach..... but thats just my oppinion.
notfarnow
02-20-2007, 05:42 PM
I'm with Subaru 100%. Leaving your cigarette butts on the ground is littering.
Having said that, there should be proper ashtrays or "butt stops" in areas where smokers hang out. If a company knows its employees smoke in a particular area, they should have something set up for them.
They should also have ashtrays in bus stops to make it more convenient for smokers.
The_Dave
02-20-2007, 05:53 PM
If you read his post again care1978, you will see the comments and innuendos towards smokers and that is fine. I respect subarus opinions. It is just an old topic of subarus that we smokers have grown tired of. As 6sixstring6 said a back door approach. Why not talk about real issues such as Marsh Creek like Dynamic mentioned. This City's residents should be up in arms about that. The smell, the toxins, the PCBs, and God knows what else. But wait, no lets pick on smokers instead. Give me a break and I don't mean smoke break.
Also care1978 I buy my smokes with the money I made from WORKING, not from money I get from assistance, which by the way is your tax dollar too. Is that where you want you tax dollar going?? Or would you rather see it put food in a child's mouth, or a roof over the child's head. You are trying to compare apples to oranges here.
Again I AGREE, littering in any form is just plain lazy and disrespectful.
subaru2222
02-20-2007, 07:38 PM
Well I'm glad you agree on the littering part with me. And I will agree with you I do maybe a little tiny teeny bit complain about smokers. But the The_Dave as you said and I quote "one day the world may be smoke free and I hope soon I will be or I will be dead, but for now it is legal, leave us alone." the or I will be dead part scares me. Then who would I argue or agree with :)
The_Dave
02-20-2007, 07:50 PM
Hehehe I hear you there subaru. I will try my best to stay around for as long as possible so we can have discussions on topics, that of course we BOTH know everything about and to keep the Mods busy.
girdy
02-20-2007, 09:19 PM
I wonder how many Tim Hortons cups you had to kick aside to see the Cig butts. I agree that the butts are litter, but in this area I have much more of an issue with folks tossing Tims cups out their car windows and pedestrians throwing them on your lawn.
I'm not a smoker and not defending the Cig butts, but frankly they're only small portion of the litter problem.
Cherry Pop
02-20-2007, 09:39 PM
I don't smoke in fact I'm allergic to cig smoke! Whenever I see someone throw away a smoke that is still lit, I jump on it and put it out. You never know when a lit smoke could start a fire. I agree that smokers shouldn't just throw their cig butts on the ground. Our Co-op does a spring street cleaning every spring and I swear if I had a penny for every cig butt I picked up last year I would be a millionaire!
Right now I'm working for a call centre and I have never worked for a company where so many employees smoke. Their not supposed to smoke at the front of the building but they do anyways. All they left to put butts in was a coffee can and when that gets full no one empties it.
I find it looks very unprofessional to have 10 or 15 employees at a time standing outside, smoking, and just tossing their butts everywhere. The place looks like a mess.
we are not breaking any laws
actually, this thread is about throwing your butts on the ground, which is littering, which is against the law...
They should also have ashtrays in bus stops to make it more convenient for smokers.
Actually, it's not legal to smoke 'in' a bus stop... (an enclosed bus stop)
It is just an old topic of subarus that we smokers have grown tired of.
Maybe I've been neglecting my modding duties, but I fail to see another thread on the subject of cigarette butt littering... link?
Dan_Man
02-20-2007, 10:22 PM
Right now I'm working for a call centre and I have never worked for a company where so many employees smoke. Their not supposed to smoke at the front of the building but they do anyways. All they left to put butts in was a coffee can and when that gets full no one empties it.
I find it looks very unprofessional to have 10 or 15 employees at a time standing outside, smoking, and just tossing their butts everywhere. The place looks like a mess.
It might be a good idea to bring up the lack of cigarette butt cleanup with a manager at work.
The_Dave
02-20-2007, 10:40 PM
jdcb you are right, it is against the law to litter. Very observant of you. As I said in my post, I put my butts in the available butt outs. No law breaking for me mister.
As for these butt outs that you see at all the malls and stores at their doorways, they are not supposed to be in doorways. That is against the bylaws. The designated smoking areas and ashtrays (buttouts) must be away from doorways and entrances of places of business. These butt outs encourage smoking at the doorways of these places. If people have a problem with the issue of seeing butts on the ground and the smell of these butts in the butt outs, and having smoke blown in their faces, the first step you can take is go to management of these malls and stores that have these fixed butt outs to the wall entrances and complain. If no changes are made then I suggest calling the police or whoever and lodging a complaint. The mall or store will be either warned or fined. Non smokers have rights to.
The real issue here is this bylaw, which I am for, has NO teeth. No one is enforcing it.
It might be a good idea to bring up the lack of cigarette butt cleanup with a manager at work.
That is a good thing to do...
As for these butt outs that you see at all the malls and stores at their doorways, they are not supposed to be in doorways. That is against the bylaws.
This is correct too, very astute.
A lot of places I have seen don't really provide a place for smoking customers. And the ones that do, and are away from the doors, the smokers stand upwind and then throw their butts down. I don't mean to imply there that they all do it, but the few ruin things for the many... And that may be the case here too, there may be many more considerate smokers than there are not, but it's the ones that are not that are causing the problem.
marriedchickie
02-21-2007, 01:42 AM
I live in a non smoking building due to my husband and my youngest being allergic to smoke. What bothers me is that we live on the ground floor, which is very warm so in the summer we have our windows open. People all stand outside and smoke and the smoke ends up in our apartment anyways. People in my family smoke and they leave my apartment and walk far enough away to have their smokes. When we first moved in, I asked the landlord about a can so people could toss their butts away. A large coffee can that we could just throw in the dumpster when it was "icky". It was a no go. It made the place look too "dumpy". Well after the fall, all of a sudden there was a sign, NO MORE BUTTS ON THE GROUND and low and behold, there was a coffee can!! It would have been much easier to just put the can out. And a lot less mess for the care taker to rake and clean.
space
02-21-2007, 04:13 AM
Im glad we don't smoke.
It was my grandmother the most that saved me from starting to smoke when I was in high school...
subaru2222
02-21-2007, 09:15 AM
I wonder how many Tim Hortons cups you had to kick aside to see the Cig butts. I agree that the butts are litter, but in this area I have much more of an issue with folks tossing Tims cups out their car windows and pedestrians throwing them on your lawn.
I'm not a smoker and not defending the Cig butts, but frankly they're only small portion of the litter problem.
I agree about the Tims cups. I think they should put a deposit on those things then they would not be everywhere :) I saw a guy parked in his van the other day open his door and throw garbage on the ground then close his door. I drove over by him and pointed to the garbage on the ground and he looked at me like I was insane.
In the summer I see people walking on the sides of the highways collecting bottles I see them all the time. You would think after years and years all the bottles would be picked up. Do enough people throw bottles out of their windows as they drive down the highway to keep these people picking them up? I think its a great thing they are doing picking up the bottles it keeps the area clean and they make a few bucks. But if people did not littler in the first place the bottles would not be there.
One time my friend was drinking a pop in his car driving down the highway. For some reason he spilled it all over and then threw the bottle out the window in anger. Well A police office saw him and pulled him over. He asked why he littered. He told the officer what happened and he does not usually litter. The officer saw that he was covered in pop so he let him go with out a fine. As the officer walked away he got out of his car and started to walk down the highway. The officer ask him where are you going? He said I am going to pick up the bottle I threw out the window. The officer was surprised and said we need more people like you around. Well thats my corny but true story for today. I guess the moral is don't littler and teach your kids not too.
oh wait one more short story I just thought of. This happened the other day. I saw a family of 4 walking through the parking lot. A Mom and Dad Daughter and Son. The Son was about 15. He was opening a CD I think. He took the cd wrapper and the bag it came in and just dropped it on the ground as they kept walking. They all just walked over it and kept going. I could not believe it but the parents did not even care. Seems like they brought up their kids the wrong way as far as caring goes. When I'm out with my Daughter and we see a bag or sometime blowing around on the ground and its not even ours she picks it up and puts it in the trash. Now if we all did that or not littler in the first place this city would be a lot cleaner.
Dan_Man
02-21-2007, 09:23 AM
Well said subaru :)
rhiley_08j
02-23-2007, 06:43 PM
If it makes any difference, your guys nagging has rubbed off on me, so I guess this forum wasn't for nothing. At one time I wouldn't have thought twice about throwing my cigarette butt out the van window, but now every time I am about to I catch myself and now my ashtray is overflowing, who's gonna come empty it, LOL:rofl:
Maybe if you nag enough I might even quit smoking, yeah right I wish.
Thanks You Naggers
Mandy
02-24-2007, 12:11 PM
Throwing anything on the ground is not right; but "butts" start to mold and stink after a while. Not pleasant for smokers or non-smokers. We have a tennant who refuses to smoke in their apartment, due to a child, which is fine........however, if they are going to go and stand on the front stairs of our building, they should have enough respect for the other tennants and bring a tin can or ashtray down with them and put them out there instead of peppering the lawn and walkway with them.
I really hate the spring when the snow has melted, as if the dog crap is not bad enough; raking up hundreds of cigarette butts is just as disgusting.
Ashtrays are not expensive, so there really is no excuse. If a company permits their employees to smoke on their property; then they should provide them with a method of disposal too.
Just my thoughts!
subaru2222
02-24-2007, 03:56 PM
If it makes any difference, your guys nagging has rubbed off on me, so I guess this forum wasn't for nothing. At one time I wouldn't have thought twice about throwing my cigarette butt out the van window, but now every time I am about to I catch myself and now my ashtray is overflowing, who's gonna come empty it, LOL:rofl:
Maybe if you nag enough I might even quit smoking, yeah right I wish.
Thanks You Naggers
Well that is what I like to read. Glad you posted that thanks. And now lets get you to stop smoking. Come on stop smoking please. Come on you can do it.
Ok so you stopped smoking yet? NO? why come on. lol did I nag you enough? Really glad to hear you don't litter your butts makes all our hard work pay off.