Tossing Garbage in the street...

[rayinpenn]

My daughter asked me to close up after her this morning.. 6:45AM and I walked to the door, after her, and I noticed my wife's morning paper had finally arrived. I'd been out earlier with the old pooch and no paper. So I followed DD out and let her pull out of the driveway and she proceeded to drive to the corner. I heard a loud crunch and thought to myself what in gods name was that. She made the left and then disappeared. It wasn't fully light yet so grabbed the paper and went inside.

My jobs just 9.5 miles away and frankly I don't get there early like I used to. So a little over an hour later I jumped my trusty RAV4 and followed her route. I get to the corner, having forgotten the crunch and I spot the source of the noise. Some kind individual has dumped their fast food remnants in the road in front of my house. Cups, containers and paper bag; I stop the car pick it all up and proceed to work. I am grateful I didn't see them do it.

It occurs to me that the Mrs and I work pretty hard to keep sleepy hollow well groomed. Blowing the leaves, trimming, me driving the tractor her hand mowing the side hill. We take pride in how it looks. In our neighborhood the houses are not huge but they are spacious on large lots - nearly all are very tidy. It took years of work to afford those houses.

I've never tossed garbage out the window I cannot understand anyone who could. I can't help but be saddened that anyone could be so disrespectful. Personal property is at the foundation of a free society.
I can't help but wonder is it a symptom of change?

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

My daughter asked me to close up after her this morning.. 6:45AM and I walked to the door, after her, and I noticed my wife's morning paper had finally arrived. I'd been out earlier with the old pooch and no paper. So I followed DD out and let her pull out of the driveway and she proceeded to drive to the corner. I heard a loud crunch and thought to myself what in gods name was that. She made the left and then disappeared. It wasn't fully light yet so grabbed the paper and went inside.

My jobs just 9.5 miles away and frankly I don't get there early like I used to. So a little over an hour later I jumped my trusty RAV4 and followed her route. I get to the corner, having forgotten the crunch and I spot the source of the noise. Some kind individual has dumped their fast food remnants in the road in front of my house. Cups, containers and paper bag; I stop the car pick it all up and proceed to work. I am grateful I didn't see them do it.

It occurs to me that the Mrs and I work pretty hard to keep sleepy hollow well groomed. Blowing the leaves, trimming, me driving the tractor her hand mowing the side hill. We take pride in how it looks. In our neighborhood the houses are not huge but they are spacious on large lots - nearly all are very tidy. It took years of work to afford those houses.

I've never tossed garbage out the window I cannot understand anyone who could. I can't help but be saddened that anyone could be so disrespectful. Personal property is at the foundation of a free society.
Is it a symptom of change?

Ray, Ive been seeing this for a long time. My Parents old house was a few blocks from Queens College. Parking was terrible near the college, so many times the students that didnt take the bus to college would find spots near our house. They would open the drivers side door and throw the garbage bag under their car. When they pulled away, boom, bag of garbage for mom or pop to pick up. .

On more than 1 occasion while I was working in a radio car, I saw people flinging out a bunch of garbage from a car window. Its a moving violation or at least it was, they must have paid the fine, because I never had anyone fight it. N.Y. Vehicle & Traffic Law 1220 – Throwing Refuse On Highways and Adjacent Lands Prohibited , lol, its a 350 dollar fine now, I just looked .

 

[rayinpenn]

On more than 1 occasion while I was working in a radio car, I saw people flinging out a bunch of garbage from a car window. Its a moving violation or at least it was, they must have paid the fine, because I never had anyone fight it. N.Y. Vehicle & Traffic Law 1220 – Throwing Refuse On Highways and Adjacent Lands Prohibited , lol, its a 350 dollar fine now, I just looked .

Thank you for your service and thank you for each summons you wrote!

When I was in Singapore I notice not a single paper on the ground...
Gotta wonder what they are doing right? I think I know.

 

[aja8888]

Thank you for your service and thank you for each summons you wrote!

When I was in Singapore I notice not a single paper on the ground...
Gotta wonder what they are doing right? I think I know.

Yeah, Singapore is very clean and they keep it that way. I used to stop there to overnight on the way to Jakarta. Jakarta looks like it's on another planet compared to Singapore.

 

[97guns]

I have the same problem with people living across the street, they rent out rooms and their tenants are always parking in front of my house and leaving their garbage, I put on some gloves, gather it up and toss it in his gutter

 

[rodi]

There have been litterers through the ages... from all walks of life. I walk the dog on the beach every morning - this beach is in a very upscale neighborhood (La Jolla) and many of the regulars live in the neighborhood. I've seen some locals litter and/or not pick up their dog poop.

I just figure that I enjoy my beach walks and as a show of appreciation, I pick up litter every day. Today that included two empty bottles of jack daniels and an empty 2 liter coke bottle, the various remnants of a destroyed boogie board or cooler (1" pieces of styrofoam) and the usual bits of trash, plastic, balloon remnants, etc.

I don't think litterers are aware of their impact on the rest of us... they just litter and assume it will go away. An attitude I try very had to remove from my kids.

 

[Senator]

From an environmental perspective, it is better to scatter the garbage and not pick up the dog poop, but from a civilized human standpoint, it needs to be picked up.

I suspect the ones littering are just plain lazy, and not being environmentally friendly.

I live in a busy 4-lane road. I get beer bottles in my yard all the time. I usually see them but when the mower hits them it pulverizes them.

 

[bw5972]

...I've never tossed garbage out the window I cannot understand anyone who could. I can't help but be saddened that anyone could be so disrespectful. Personal property is at the foundation of a free society.
I can't help but wonder is it a symptom of change?

Not a change, sadly, just the status quo. Here's a classic from 1970...
https://youtu.be/j7OHG7tHrNM

 

[scrabbler1]

Not a change, sadly, just the status quo. Here's a classic from 1970...
https://youtu.be/j7OHG7tHrNM

I thought of this commercial as I read this thread. Thanks for posting.

 

[Lakewood90712]

This is standard behavior of many young ( 18-24) drivers, and has been for at least a decade. Along with driving 60 mph on quiet residential streets Usually in low end BMW, Lexus or Benz, dark tinted windows, no front lic plate. Oh My, I'm profiling again.

 

[hesperus]

This is standard behavior of many young ( 18-24) drivers, and has been for at least a decade. Along with driving 60 mph on quiet residential streets Usually in low end BMW, Lexus or Benz, dark tinted windows, no front lic plate. Oh My, I'm profiling again.

No front license plate and tinted windows here in SW Colorado usually means a New Mexico driver. Some of the worst drivers I've ever encountered.
Your description fits, and they don't have a very good reputation here either.

 

[bUU]

I can't help but wonder is it a symptom of change?

I remember people doing such things when I was a child in the 60's. Selfish behaviors have always existed and like many other things in our lives come and go in cycles.

 

[Meadbh]

Not a change, sadly, just the status quo. Here's a classic from 1970...
https://youtu.be/j7OHG7tHrNM

That actor is definitely not Native American.

Here's the picnic scene from Mad Men. Were people in the 1960s really that ignorant? Who did they think was going to clean it up? The garbage fairy?

https://youtu.be/roREnVhd_og

 

[brucethebroker]

I remember people doing such things when I was a child in the 60's. Selfish behaviors have always existed and like many other things in our lives come and go in cycles.

Good point. My guess is they are the adult versions of the kids who would refuse to carry their lunch tray to the dishwasher line in HS, leaving it on their table for the lunch ladies to clean up. Too cool to do it, I guess.

BTW, it used to really upset me to see someone waiting at a stoplight open their car door and empty their ash tray in the street. What? Butts aren't REALLY litter? (Don't see it much anymore with fewer smokers).

 

[scrabbler1]

Good point. My guess is they are the adult versions of the kids who would refuse to carry their lunch tray to the dishwasher line in HS, leaving it on their table for the lunch ladies to clean up. Too cool to do it, I guess.

BTW, it used to really upset me to see someone waiting at a stoplight open their car door and empty their ash tray in the street. What? Butts aren't REALLY litter? (Don't see it much anymore with fewer smokers).

I still see cigarette butts tossed out the windows of moving cars. I have come close to being on the receiving end of them as they fly passed my open car window. I shudder to think how dangerous it would be if one landed on me.

 

[youbet]

Picking up litter is bad enough but when I find dog poop on the lawn in front of the house, it really makes me wonder about the dogs' owners.

 

[marko]

There are people out there who just don't give a crap.

What seems to be a growing issue IMO are the people who are clearly in the wrong (the guy running a stop sign, throwing a cup on the ground, letting his dog poop on your lawn) but if you confront them, they get mad at YOU. This seems to be a new phenomenon.

I know, I'm sounding like a grumpy old man.

 

[rayinpenn]

There are people out there who just don't give a crap..... if you confront them, they get mad at YOU. This seems to be a new phenomenon.

I know, I'm sounding like a grumpy old man.

I am comfortable belonging to that grumpy old man cub...

My rallying cry
Our street, our house,our lawn and dam it did not come easy!

 

[braumeister]

I still see cigarette butts tossed out the windows of moving cars. I have come close to being on the receiving end of them as they fly passed my open car window. I shudder to think how dangerous it would be if one landed on me.

I don't know if it's true, but I've heard that the reason you see new boats being delivered with white shrink wrap covering them is because they used to occasionally catch on fire from a cigarette tossed out the window of the truck towing them.

 

[Amethyst]

People have discovered that being a jerk often pays. The other person backs down. (People who live by this policy, may eventually pull their stunts on somebody with a mean disposition and a weapon).

There are people out there who just don't give a crap.

What seems to be a growing issue IMO are the people who are clearly in the wrong (the guy running a stop sign, throwing a cup on the ground, letting his dog poop on your lawn) but if you confront them, they get mad at YOU. This seems to be a new phenomenon.

I know, I'm sounding like a grumpy old man.

 

[chicamuxen]

I am anal about keeping my yard and house looking perfect. I pick up litter daily. I have someone that throws the same breakfast sandwich wrapper in my yard almost every morning. I really think a big part of it is jealousy.

 

[scrabbler1]

There are people out there who just don't give a crap.

What seems to be a growing issue IMO are the people who are clearly in the wrong (the guy running a stop sign, throwing a cup on the ground, letting his dog poop on your lawn) but if you confront them, they get mad at YOU. This seems to be a new phenomenon.

I know, I'm sounding like a grumpy old man.

I used to encounter this back in the 1980s from rude, inconsiderate smokers who lit up in areas you weren't allowed to smoke in, starting with elevators, of all places! And when I spoke up, I was often treated as a troublemaker for simply wanting to breathe clean air and not be subjected to being in a fire hazard (i.e. elevator) with a lit cigarette.

 

[bUU]

Good point. The inconsideration has always been. It has just changed form.

 

[Nemo2]

I really think a big part of it is jealousy.

Terminal Assholeism (a medically diagnosed condition) is also a major factor.

 

[joeea]

I've never tossed garbage out the window I cannot understand anyone who could. I can't help but be saddened that anyone could be so disrespectful. Personal property is at the foundation of a free society.
I can't help but wonder is it a symptom of change?

It would be hard to declare the work of one idiot as a sign of the collapse of a free society.

If this has never happened before, you may have just been lucky. This time you were unlucky. Try not to let it bother you so much.

If this continues to happen, then perhaps your neighborhood is in decline and you are just now noticing it. Free society will be fine.