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Maybe a small surcharge on fast food/carryout joints to boost the county's cleanup budget. IMO the bulk of the litter is from these businesses/customers. Straws, wrappers/boxes, paper & plastic bags, napkins, plastic utensils, cans/bottles/cups, condiment packs...blah & yuck.
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Originally Posted by HomeFinder15
Just yesterday, Easter Sunday, my DH and I were stopped at a light and the idiot in front of us tossed his butt out the window. From his Lexus, of course. I told my husband that it is a shame they no longer make cars with ashtrays!
On many occasions, especially stopped at a light, I have been sooooo tempted to get out, pick up someone's trash, and throw it back in THEIR car window. But, alas, I fear being shot at......
I'm a smoker, yet that behavior irks me very much too. Yes, ashtrays aren't exactly standard in autos anymore, but console/dashboard cup holders sure are. For $2 you can get a mini butt can at Walmart/Auto Barn which fits just dandy. Dump it at home or use a public receptacle when needed. Problem solved. Its the lazy, self-centered smokers that are the problem.
Maybe a small surcharge on fast food/carryout joints to boost the county's cleanup budget. IMO the bulk of the litter is from these businesses/customers. Straws, wrappers/boxes, paper & plastic bags, napkins, plastic utensils, cans/bottles/cups, condiment packs...blah & yuck.
I'm a smoker, yet that behavior irks me very much too. Yes, ashtrays aren't exactly standard in autos anymore, but console/dashboard cup holders sure are. For $2 you can get a mini butt can at Walmart/Auto Barn which fits just dandy. Dump it at home or use a public receptacle when needed. Problem solved. Its the lazy, self-centered smokers that are the problem.
Just like the surcharge on the bottles, it will meet huge opposition. Again the entitlement attitude. It's the lazy, self-centered Long Island Litterbugs that are the problem, whether or not they are also smokers.
Excellent thread Flowergarden. I wish it was about something good, but hopefully it will spur people who read it into picking up that extra piece of garbage they see laying about -- no matter who generated it.
I'm one of those 'idiots' who the entitled litterbugs expect to pick up after them. What does it take to carry something from out of the car and over to a trash receptacle? I have my kids trained to pick up when they are walking home from the school bus -- you see garbage, you pick it up and place it in the nearest garbage can.
Sometimes stuff doesn't make it from the can into the garbage truck on collection day. Would it kill people to pick up what's laying in the street? I have picked my neighbor's things up from the street, she in turn, mine. We'd rather nip it in the bud as opposed to letting it blow about.
Another problem I have witnessed is rolloff containers and Dumpsters which are not properly netted. They drive along and debris blows out and onto the road.
Vermont has a wonderful program. It's called Green Up Day. This year it lands on May 2, 2009 Green Up Vermont
I know many of our youth/community groups do volunteer beach clean ups; a NYS Green Up day would be a fantastic way to coordinate a major, statewide clean up and perhaps make the litterbugs-in-training think twice when they realize the amount of work it took to clean things up.
The problem is that unlike other states, NY metro areas do not let prisoners do the road work clean up. Why?...because the unions cry foul and claim that its their work. So instead of paying a prisoner, who we pay with taxes to keep anyways, the counties have to pay union workers. The price is ridiculous and there is not enough room in the budget to do it monthy. Thats the bottom line why our roadways are filthy!
Don't quite agree with you on that one.
IMHO the main reason our roadways are filthy is because of slobs who discard their trash without consideration for others, the environment, etc. - they just do what's easiest for them: dump their trash wherever they are!
Whether it's from the car, on the LIRR, on the Subways, on the road, no matter - just dump it--some fool will pick it up
Just think of all the (tax) money that could be saved and instead spent on more important programs
Thanks for the insight everyone. I think it sounds like the social stigma attached to being a "litterbug" somehow missed the current Long Island generation. I purpose we all take steps to change this. People don't litter in other areas of the country for various reasons. Some are positive motivators:
1) They recieved massive public service announcements followed up through school programs. They know to "give a hoot, don't pollute".
2) They care about their community
3) They care about the environment
Then there are some "negative" motivators:
1) They would be embarassed or ashamed of being seen littering. There is a huge negative social stigma to littering.
2) There's a $500 fine for littering in most states.
3) Their children would reprimand them!
Maybe we could all encourage our own children and school districts to bring back "Earth Day" and environmental education and emphasize how litter and pollution hurts our environment. We could also call our local police departments and local government officials and ask that the police be WAY less tolerant to people who throw garbage out the window. Not that I think we need to increase patrols - but I think more people should be pulled over for littering. Heck - if they collect enough in fines, we could pay for additional cleanup crews. Just a thought.
Before we go down the "can't beat the system" road, can anyone else think of some constructive ways to get the message out that throwing trash out your car window is unacceptable? The whole "litterbug" message took an entire generation to sink in in other areas of the country. But it did sink in. Maybe we just need to pull out the old programs for a bit of a refresher?
Agree or not its the truth. Do you think that its only LI'ers that litter? lol. Starting in April thru October states such as Pa, West Virginia & Maryland for sure, have the prisoners clean up the roadways with a armed guard at bay.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elke Mariotti
Don't quite agree with you on that one.
IMHO the main reason our roadways are filthy is because of slobs who discard their trash without consideration for others, the environment, etc. - they just do what's easiest for them: dump their trash wherever they are!
Whether it's from the car, on the LIRR, on the Subways, on the road, no matter - just dump it--some fool will pick it up
Just think of all the (tax) money that could be saved and instead spent on more important programs
It's the NY way. Nobody gives a flying *expletive word inserted here* about anybody, or anything, but themselves.
Dirtbags. Plain and simple.
Get the plate number, call the cops. There really isn't much else you can do without fear of a physical altercation or worse.
Better yet, in stealth mode, follow them home. Then fill up some trash bags with garbage from a diner or seafood restaurant dumpster and throw it all over their lawn.
We've recently moved to LI and this forum was very helpful to us during the move. I have a question though - ok so I have many perplexing questions, things I just don't "get" here on Long Island. However, for today, I'll stick with just this one:
What is with so many people feeling it's ok to throw trash out their car windows?
I know it's not "everyone", but it's a significant percent of the population to make the entire highway/street system in Long Island look like a bunch of pigs live here. I mean really, did not enough people get the memo? "Give a Hoot don't pollute?" What's this all about? Ct, Pa, MD, even NJ doesn't look like this. It's disgusting. It's not economic either. We have literally seen an entire fast food bag filled with trash being thrown out the window of a Lexus. It doesn't seem economic or race based. It just seems like an entitlement issue, but I'm not sure about that. All I know is that it is disgusting. In today's world there is no reason for this other than somehow some message didn't get through to a large enough percent of the population here that it creates a mess for the entire population here. So, what's up with that?
I hate to say this, but Pittsburgh is the same way. I dread Spring every year because the snow melts and you can see all the trash littered everywhere again. It's depressing.
Everyday I see at least two people in front of me on the road throw a cigarette butt out of the car window. Supposedly Pittsburgh has one of the highest smoker populations in the country so it's a frequent violation. You can report the people but why bother? The state does nothing to educate the kids in the schools about littering and the state program to deter littering is a joke (a few billboards, that's it). The parents grew up learning littering is ok so they continue to litter and teach their kids it's ok. Until they start making littering a social no-no, forget having a clean community.
The problem is that unlike other states, NY metro areas do not let prisoners do the road work clean up. Why?...because the unions cry foul and claim that its their work. So instead of paying a prisoner, who we pay with taxes to keep anyways, the counties have to pay union workers. The price is ridiculous and there is not enough room in the budget to do it monthy. Thats the bottom line why our roadways are filthy!
Yeah, I was upstate this past weekend (Norwich) and saw a prison road crew cleaning the roadside. Did a double take because I never see that on LI. Passed through many towns and small cities that looked down and out in central NY State, but they are remarkably cleaner than "prosperous" Long Island.
Yes, LI is horrible with litter. Maybe my head is in the clouds, but I'm with "Flowergarden", if there was a social stigma to being a "litter bug" and there were social motivators to NOT be a "litter bug", like there used to be 20-30 years ago with the big ad campaigns about it, maybe it would simply become unpopular to litter and people would think twice before doing it. Maybe with those motivators we should remind people of the alternative to throwing your junk out of the car window--BRING IT HOME AND THROW IT OUT THERE! Nowadays it looks as though it's just second nature to people to throw their trash out of their cars. I don't think it even crosses their minds NOT to throw their junk out of their car windows. I don't know who they think is going to pick it up. It's mind bending to be behind them and watch!
There used to be advertisements on tv that corresponded with billboards and signs about not being a litter bug. (It went something like: be a?????Don't litter, etc.) It was kind of like Smokey The Bear with fires. Maybe someone else remembers the litter logo and the little guy that represented it. It was just part of LI life when I was a kid and teenager. Littering was WRONG and it wasn't cool because everywhere you looked it said so. I can even remember the little guy, a bug of some sort maybe (a bee?), being on posters in school and teachers referring to the phrase and campaign against being a litter bug in the classroom.
I was just in Tampa, FL, which isn't much better and they have these signs all over the place that say, "Think Before You Throw" with a big universal NO sign through a hand throwing a fast food bag of trash out of a car window. I had to laugh, really, at how "watered down" that logo was from the old days. I mean, "Think before you throw"? It was kind of like saying, think about it before you do it anyhow. How many big brains got paid big bucks to be on that gov't. committee and think that one up? Why not just come out and say "NO, DON'T THROW IT--DON'T BE A LITTER BUG!"? But, at least they're trying in Tampa, I guess, and LI isn't even doing that. It's been disgusting with litter for a great many years now.
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