Why Do People Litter? (Pittsburgh, Penn: college, disposal, dental)

[gg]

I was driving on Rt. 51 today by Baldwin School and I noticed a car with police stickers and marine stickers on it. The person inside, a women with some uniform on that was obviously some public job. She opened her window and threw a cigarette out on the street. Then less than a minute later some van ahead of me threw his cigarette out of their window. I just thought, welcome to yinzerville. It is what it is.

[AnneWest]

I'm not choosing any of the options. People litter because they're slobs. There's no 'moron or yinzer' stereotype. They're pigs.

[I_Like_Spam]

I lived on the South Side for a dozen years until 2007, and I'll tell you that the City government is not real quick at emptying the trash reciprocals particularly on East Carson.

They were always full.

There is a lot of slobbery in Pittsburgh, true. But the city doesn't make it easy for those looking to do the right thing.

[PeterRabbit]

Less education = more litter.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by greg42

I have to say, I mostly STILL don't notice it. I am blessed with some sort of selective sight on this issue, apparently.

I look at buildings and people when I walk around. I don't look at cars or the sidewalk.

[Kippy]

Originally Posted by jay5835

I don't know. I don't litter. I chose "morons," because it's such an easy thing to not do, it's hard to imagine why anyone would do it. I think it's pretty snarky of you to think to blame it on "yinzers," though. I don't think it's a class issue.

I must say this (again): I didn't notice litter until you moved here and began ranting about it.

I agree, I don't understand the yinzer hate. While I am sure that there are some yinzers who happen to litter, I don't think that littering is a defining trait of a yinzer.

[Tallysmom]

And it's not just Pittsburgh. I see it out here all the time. At a stop light, I watched some moron drop a bag of trash out of his car window, two steps away from a trash can -- RIGHT IN FRONT OF A COP -- who promptly wrote a ticket and the guy yelled at him the whole time he didn't do it. I yelled back, We all saw you!!! And he started yelling at me.... the cop was laughing the whole time....

Not to mention that while the new carpet was being installed.... some guy dropped lit ciggies on the new carpet and walked away, so before the whole floor was done, the new carpet had to be replaced....

People are just a***holes. And don't get me started on smoking -- should be outlawed....

[PeterRabbit]

Cigarette butts automatically disappear on their own.

When I was growing up in the 1950s/60s littering was normal. The local Dairy Queen paid kids 15 cents an hour or a Dilly Bar to clean it up. The weeping Indian commercials seemed to be effective against it.

[PreservationPioneer]

I have to pick up litter on my street every day. I could have picked it all up the day before, and the next day it would be all over the place again. Lately, I just pick up the stuff that flies into my yard and on the street in front of my house. I can't count how many dirtied diapers and female pads I've found....on the freaking street. Gross!

[Trackwatch]

Basically it is a combination of laziness and carelessness.