# Do you litter small objects? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 17, 2004, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-litter-small-objects/245626 "2004-05-17T16:31:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sengkelat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Sengkelat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sengkelat)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-litter-small-objects/245626/21 "2004-05-18T05:35:09Z")
I almost never litter. The exceptions are a) if it’s vegetable matter (like the top of a strawberry) and I can throw it onto the dirt somewhere out of sight, like under a bush, b) if it’s a bit of thread or lint from my clothes, or c) if it’s a piece of paper that can be wadded up to be smaller than the head of a pin. But all of those are if there are no trashcans available. I keep a trashbag in my car so I almost always have somewhere to put trash. I don’t ever fling trash out of my car. One of my friends asked me “Why do you drive a bag of trash around?” It was really hard not to just look at him incredulously. When I do “litter” stuff from my list of examples, I don’t feel guilty about it, because it’s so miniscule and/or biodegradable that it’s not an issue. (And when I say biodegradable, I mean within a week, not like a piece of paper which is going to take ages and ages to go away) Speaking of which, Starburst wrappers aren’t very easily biodegradable at all, as they’re pretty much waterproof. Littering because your car has just been cleaned inside boggles my mind. You’re consciously acknowledging that the garbage is unsightly and undesirable before chucking it out the window. No wonder you feel guilty about it, Engineer Dude. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-litter-small-objects/245626/22 "2004-05-18T07:53:09Z")
I will throw apple cores and the like into (non-residential only) hedges and road verges (in fact it is even sort of traditional here - many of our railway tracks are bordered by cherry, apple and plum trees, the descendants of trees grown from fruit pips thrown out by Victorian travellers), but I never knowingly drop or leave other litter of any kind; the casual littering thing really disgusts me. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-litter-small-objects/245626/23 "2004-05-18T11:59:07Z")
> [@angelicate](#): > > I hate it when people leave nasty diapers in parking lots. I’ve heard friends of mine rationalize it by saying “But I didn’t want to drive around with that smell in my car!” I don’t want to step on a disgusting diaper when I get out of my car either! On the odd occasion where I’ve had to change my kid’s diaper in a parking lot I’ve always wrapped it up as tightly as possible and disposed of it in the first trash can I was able to find. As I said, I used to have to sweep parking lots, and something I ran across _all the time_ were shit-filled diapers, usually a few feet away from a garbage can. The other classic find was the entire contents of someone’s car ashtray. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-litter-small-objects/245626/24 "2004-05-18T12:12:50Z")
Absolutely not. I do not and will not litter. The last time I remember leaving anything on the street, it was a cup of coffee that went down and then came up. And even then I made sure to puke in the gutter and not on the sidewalk. ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-litter-small-objects/245626/25 "2004-05-18T15:29:27Z")
> [@Engineer Dude](#): > > 1. how populated of an area I am in (no-one is going to notice a chewed piece of gum laying in the median of a highway in the middle of Alabama, but it will probably get stuck to someone’s shoe if they are walking across a road downtown in a city). That’s weird - I make exactly the opposite calculation and so do a lot of my friends. Cities are already dirty and garbage-filled, so there’s little harm in adding a bit to the mess. But if you litter in the country it might end up in some pristine wilderness. But maybe that’s because where I’m from you end up in beautiful wilderness areas when you leave the city. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-litter-small-objects/245626/26 "2004-05-18T15:34:47Z")
My bf and I were eating outside at Dairy Queen a couple of weeks ago when we saw a guy in the parking lot throw some trash out his window and take off. I said, “Too bad the cops don’t stop people for that kind of thing.” Just then a police cruiser drove up behind the man and pulled him over. He made him come back and pick his trash up and throw it away!! We cracked up, it was the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time. I bet that guy will think again before littering! ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-litter-small-objects/245626/27 "2004-05-18T15:54:05Z")
> [@angelicate](#): > > I hate it when people leave nasty diapers in parking lots. I’ve heard friends of mine rationalize it by saying “But I didn’t want to drive around with that smell in my car!” I don’t want to step on a disgusting diaper when I get out of my car either! I cannot even begin to describe how horrified I am that _any member of the human race_ would even contemplate doing such a thing. Seriously, I’ve never seen a diaper laying around in a parking lot, but who actually changes their kid’s diaper and then has the thought process “you know, I bet the next guy who parks here is going to be thrilled to put his foot in to a plastic-wrapped pile of my kid’s crap.” What about the people who clean those parking lots? Or the result of strewn dirty diapers on a very hot summer day… I just… can’t imagine. Don’t most parking lots sit adjacent to some kind of store or shopping center, which typically have a garbage can outside the front? How hard would it be to change your kid’s diaper, drive over to the front of the store, hop out of the car, toss the diaper, and be on your way? I hate people. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-litter-small-objects/245626/28 "2004-05-18T15:59:53Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > Never. Occasionally, a small bit of paper or plastic will blow out of my hands in a high wind and I won’t be able to chase it down, but I will never intentionally allow the smallest bit of man-made litter to escape my car or my person; I will put it in my pockets if I have to. I’m a bit more lax with natural litter: apple cores, small bits of orange peel, etc., can be left where they will degrade, but not anywhere paved or where people will likely have to look at it. I also leave pine needles (from christmas trees) outside my house (just a few – I sweep up most, but it’s hard to get them all). This is me, exactly, except for the Christmas tree thing, since I don’t put up a tree. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-litter-small-objects/245626/29 "2004-05-18T18:54:13Z")
Never. I’ve been too well conditioned by my childhood indoctrination to even think about dropping litter. Although, now I’m in London where everyone seems to throw crap on the ground. Which is understandable, because there’s never any rubbish bins about. (I believe they were removed to stop terrorists putting bombs in them. :eek: ) ---
**Author:** ![Kakkerlak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bb73d2/32.png) [@Kakkerlak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kakkerlak)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-litter-small-objects/245626/30 "2004-05-18T18:56:31Z")
I’ll dump ice out of a soft-drink cup if I’m on a lonely highway, but that’s about it. Cigarette butts are my absolute worst peeve, especially on the highway. I ride a motorcycle almost every day, so bright sparks in my face aren’t my favorite treat to receive from somebody’s window. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-litter-small-objects/245626/31 "2004-05-18T19:13:49Z")
I throw out chewing gum if I know nobody’s going to step on it (i.e., an interstate). I also throw out toothpicks. That’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-litter-small-objects/245626/32 "2004-05-18T19:20:58Z")
**Engineer Dude** , one problem with this thread is that it’s going to attract anti-litter types. Since no one has strong feelings _in favor_ of litter, people who occasionally litter aren’t going to be inspired to post. Unless they’re really procrastinating today, like me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-litter-small-objects/245626/33 "2004-05-18T20:37:43Z")
I would like to say a few words in defense of the practice of littering biodegradable waste. - Caveat: the ‘litter’ must end up on public property, (reasonably) out of sight of passers-by, and in an environment where biodegradation is likely (on soil, among vegetation etc). If I throw my apple core under that pine tree by the train tracks, it will biodegrade fairly soon. It may even produce a new apple tree, and I firmly believe you can’t have enough trees ! If I throw it in the closest garbage receptacle, it will (a) be hauled to the depot in a polluting heavy truck, then (b) be hauled (in another polluting truck) to a landfill (in my case, in Michigan), where it may biodegrade eventually, but certainly not nearly as quickly as it would under the pine tree. And it will never be a new apple tree. From an environmental standpoint - and I mean the whole environment, including landfills in Michigan and the air around Toronto, not just the immediate patch of ground closest to me - encouraging biodegradable waste to biodegrade, as immediately as possible, is the most responsible thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![BoringDad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ad7895/32.png) [@BoringDad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoringDad)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-litter-small-objects/245626/34 "2004-05-19T02:16:27Z")
> [@cowgirl](#): > > From an environmental standpoint - and I mean the whole environment, including landfills in Michigan and the air around Toronto, not just the immediate patch of ground closest to me - encouraging biodegradable waste to biodegrade, as immediately as possible, is the most responsible thing to do. Whew. Thanks **cowgirl**. You saved me the effort of typing the exact same thing. A reasonable decomposition spot is far preferable to landfilling it. > [@ftg](#): > > Humans are biodegradable. What if we started dumping bodies in your front yard, would you be okay with that? (I.e., I loathe the “but it’s biodegradable” rationalization.) The analogy is not accurate. The proper analogy would be “What if we started dumping small parts of non-diseased bodies in your rural ditches, would you be okay with that?” This makes the size dumped and the location it was dumped in comparable. To which I could answer that it would be fine with me. Note that biodegradable dumping is all a relative item. If you are in an area where 1000 other people might do it that day (field next to a city park), then you can easily overwhelm the natural cleaning process. In parks, I throw away the apple cores. If I am on a rural road that only sees 1000 cars all day, out the window goes the apple cores and banana peels (after I peel off the stickers). In my backyard, the watermelon rind just gets hurled to the back fence where squirrels haul it off in about 20 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-litter-small-objects/245626/35 "2004-05-19T02:39:30Z")
**BoringDad** , there’s more than two ways to dispose of an apple core. I compost them in _my_ compost pile. I just turned over the “winter” pile and my leaf piles this past weekend. My winter pile is almost “done.” A cubic yard of dark rich Good Stuff. About the lame aspects of the “but it’s biodegradable argument.” 1. Most of the stuff they are throwing out aren’t biodegradable. Cigarette butts with filters don’t degrade. Without filters it still takes forever. Etc. 2. I don’t throw stuff on someone else’s private property. What they want on their property is their decision not mine. I also don’t consider public property to be my personal trash can. Ever seen a city park after a festival? A lot of people acting irresponsibly is not good. Therefore no one should. I take responsibility for my actions. I encourage others to do the same. ---
**Author:** ![BoringDad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ad7895/32.png) [@BoringDad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoringDad)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-litter-small-objects/245626/36 "2004-05-19T02:59:33Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > About the lame aspects of the “but it’s biodegradable argument.” > > 1. Most of the stuff they are throwing out aren’t biodegradable. Cigarette butts with filters don’t degrade. Without filters it still takes forever. Etc. > > 2. I don’t throw stuff on someone else’s private property. What they want on their property is their decision not mine. I also don’t consider public property to be my personal trash can. Ever seen a city park after a festival? A lot of people acting irresponsibly is not good. Therefore no one should. > > I take responsibility for my actions. I encourage others to do the same. Well now that is a completely different argument. When I heard biodegradable, I thought food product. And you will note that I agreed with you about city parks (even though the garbage after a festival is generally not composed of apple cores and banana peels.) I also do not consider public property to be my personal trash can. Nor do I consider apple cores to be garbage in a natural setting. If I pick an apple from a tree in a remote field, and then throw the core at the base of the tree, have I littered? I take responsibility for my actions. And responsible actions can be made using logic and knowledge of potential consequences. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-litter-small-objects/245626.md?page=1)