Litterbug followup (New York, York, Phoenix: how much, home, schools)

[flowergarden]

I don't know if it's something that someone from here did, but yesterday I was getting on 495 from 83 and the electronic bulletin board said, "LITTERING $250 FINE". Maybe the message is getting through..........


It's a little bit of progress.

[villager-li]

I can't stand people who litter....it's very frustrating when I see people do it, especially in my own town (which gets a LOT of through-traffic). People should have pride in where they live. I say the fine for littering should be $1000+.

[Lilybeans]

Don't foget, tossing cigarette buts out the window is littering. No diffferent than a McDonald's wrapper or beer can.

[Samrai309]

Originally Posted by Lilybeans

Don't foget, tossing cigarette buts out the window is littering. No diffferent than a McDonald's wrapper or beer can.

It kills me when you are at a light and you glance at the island next to you (some towns have nicely revitalized and landscaped their streets and walkways) and you see the cigarette butts mixed in with the mulch by the hundreds. I often wonder why all these years, they have not come up with a biodegradeable filter or something that will at least break down since so many people toss their butts out the windows. (Most cars do not even come with ashtrays anymore, unless you order the "smoker's package" so I assume almost all get thrown out the window).

Also, some companies, albeit makers of more expensive juices and waters, are using plastic bottles made from corn, that are biodegradeable. I wonder how much more expensive it is to make/use these bottles, and why larger companies like Nestle waters (makers of like every major bottled water brand name in the US) have not jumped in. So many bottles get thrown away at schools, malls, public places, side of the roads, etc.

[alexei27]

Originally Posted by Samrai309

It kills me when you are at a light and you glance at the island next to you (some towns have nicely revitalized and landscaped their streets and walkways) and you see the cigarette butts mixed in with the mulch by the hundreds. I often wonder why all these years, they have not come up with a biodegradeable filter or something that will at least break down since so many people toss their butts out the windows. (Most cars do not even come with ashtrays anymore, unless you order the "smoker's package" so I assume almost all get thrown out the window).

Also, some companies, albeit makers of more expensive juices and waters, are using plastic bottles made from corn, that are biodegradeable. I wonder how much more expensive it is to make/use these bottles, and why larger companies like Nestle waters (makers of like every major bottled water brand name in the US) have not jumped in. So many bottles get thrown away at schools, malls, public places, side of the roads, etc.

You make excellent points...we actually bought these recycled aluminum water bottles that we refill and keep in the car.

However if our perception of the problems don't change it is all irrelevant. I picked up a McDonalds bag with a half eaten burger in it at the end of my driveway this morning...gross!

People need to be re-educated that it is not ok to litter in the first place. Unfortunately no one cares about littering/excessive speeding/passing over the double yellow...until they get caught and get hit with the hefty fine.

There is very little self accountability anymore...sad.

[Charles22]

I thought this thread was going to be about litterbug followups. They've had no-littering signs for decades. Did it help?

What can be done about litterbugs? I was behind some kids last week and one tossed his Snapple bottle into a ravine on someone's property. I yelled at them and asked them if they lived in our town, but what else was I supposed to do? Follow them around?

[click]

It is New Yorkers! Plain and simple. When you drive across the country, I did it five times alone last year, you do not see this kind of litter that we have here. I don't know if it is the influx of people from the burroughs or what, although NYC seems to be cleaner than it is on the island a lot of the time, but, it is simply gross. I have to laugh too, or rather cry, cause there are a lot of NYers who have moved to the Phoenix area, and there a few years back, you could literally eat off the street, and now you see litter appearing on their highways. They even wrote an article about it in the Arizona Republic newspaper! So what is it with New Yorkers and letting things just drop out of their car windows. I have seen doors open at red lights and people literally drop a whole bag of McDonalds right out onto the grass next to their car! Do people think that is attractive? Do they want to live in communities littered with garbage all over? I don't get it. You can't take the garbage home and deposit in your can? And, what is up with people sponsoring garbage pickup along Sunrise Highway and then garbage not being picked up? Don't the companies complain that they are paying for nothing? I certainly would if I was supporting this campaign. It doesn't reflect good on the company then..........

[lialleycat]

Click, it's not just New Yorkers, but they are one of the top offenders. Go through Detroit, that's the worst I've seen for litter. Thought it was a few years ago, and perhaps it's better now. However, NY'ers do tend to bring their lack of responsibility with them and will continue the same habits of littering that were well established here. This is one of the reasons why others see us as a detriment to their communities and don't want us to move there.

[alexei27]

Yeah I'd have to agree it's not just NY or LI for that matter. I think part of the reason you don't see it as much in other places is 1) less population...but probably the same per capita amount of stuff being thrown from cars. and 2) other states have clean up crews. I hardly ever see that here.

[I_Love_LI_but]

Singapore has some effective ways to keep litterbugs at bay.