Where, when and how did smokers come to believe that it is completely acceptable to drop their cigarettes on the ground? I was walking to work this morning when a smoker, walking with two other people, took her last hit and, without even looking, just dropped the filter, stepped on it, and went on her way. She never broke stride, never stopped talking; I honestly doubt she even thought about the actions, let alone the consequences. Neither of her friends seemed to notice, either.
What the hell? If she had watched me finish a can of soda and then just casually drop it to the ground, and then step on it, would she have noticed? Would she have cared? Would anybody?
Are smokers as a group so deluded that they believe the filters are biodegradable, when in reality it takes years for cellulose acetate (a form of plastic) to degrade? Or does the fault lie with the rest of us, who have come to see this as normal and give smokers a "pass" on littering?
I have already sparked a Larry David-esque discussion (read: friendly argument) on the train with a couple commuters who think leaving their newspapers on the ground is a form of recycling, so I guess it's time to start with smokers. Curmudgeon powers, activate!
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3 comments:
Brendon
First off, I've always had the same thoughts you do here. Most people appear to be averse to just throwing some trash on the ground (well, not the folks that live in my neighborhood--perhaps I should say "most people with a non-lower-socioeconomic class set of values and sense of the world"), but smokers of all stripes (regardless of class) seem to treat the environment as their trash can once they have nothing but the filter in their hand.
Here's a tangential note. A few years after I started working at UC, the facilities dept installed "butt cans" at the outside doorways of most buildings. When smokers were finished with their standing-around-chatting-and-smoking breaks, they would deposit the butts in the can. Result: much cleaner campus.
Then, last year, the student govt passed a resolution (that the administration, amazingly, approved) that made UC an all non-smoking campus. Smoking is prohibited within 500 feet of any building. Of course, this measure requires a great effort to enforce (one the university is not up for making), so smokers pretty much ignore the rule. But the university, wanting to give some kind of sign that they're serious about the ban, removed all of the butt cans. Result: dirty campus (once again) covered in butt litter.
Sigh.
Chris
Great story; sad, gross, and an unfortunate reality of campus politics.. I also share your pain about your neighborhood; there is a woman who, like clockwork every Sunday AM as she walks down the street to the store, likes to stop at the intersection and...um...relieve herself in the storm drain. Seriously. Gotta love the neighbors.
On neighborhoods: At our old house many neighbors would litter in their own yards (food wrappers, beer cans, and of course cigarette butts) so there was little to no respect for the yards of others. I've left that, but now get litter tossed out of passing cars - oddly enough the same beer cans, food wrappers, and cigarette butts.
I will disagree with your take on newspapers. They should NEVER be left on the ground, but I often have picked up and read (recycled) a paper that was left on a seat (public transit) or table (diner, etc.). I equate this with leaving unused napkins on the table at a fastfood place so as not to waste them.
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