Is Littering a Crime?

[interspark]

i know it is legally speaking but i'm asking if you think it's a moral crime, does it reeeeeally grind your gears and get on your nerves?

i never really thought about it much but earlier i saw this guy just casually drop his coke bottle and i just thought "oh that lazy deuche!"

edit: ah dammit, i made a poll! there was supposed to be a poll!

 

[StriderShinryu]

Yeah, it annoys me too. It's probably the worst when there's a garbage can in clear sight and someone still dumps their trash on the ground.

 

[trollnystan]

Yes. Very much YES. I think it's inconsiderate and lazy. Especially when there's a rubbish bin just 0-10 metres away. Augh, annoys me so much! D=<

 

[w9496]

Yes, it does annoy me, because this is everybodies planet, stop treating it like a dump. How much is the fine for littering anyway? These things change so often its hard to keep track.

 

[SoopaSte123]

For me, it mainly depends on the location. Someone litters in a parking lot? So what? We already destroyed the surrounding nature so there's not much harm it can do. Someone litters in the woods? Sends me into a rage.

Though, I guess it also depends on what they're using to litter... Gum in the woods? Fine. Gum in the parking lot? GO FUCK YOURSELF IT GOT ON MY SHOE!

Case to case basis, I suppose. Granted, if everyone littered in parking lots, it could be a big deal, but it just doesn't anger me at all.

 

[Metaik]

Mainly depends on the type, I mean if it's paper or something biodegradable then I'd say I'm disgruntled at best, but for pretty much anything else, then it does really irritate.

Then there's the whole time/money issue of how much could be saved if governments didn't have to employ peeps to clean up after others, plus alot of resources could be recycled but aren't through shear LAZINESS.

 

[let's rock]

Yes, get off you're lazy ass and throw it in a trashcan. Honestly littering to me is just proof of how humans, as a species, are lazy and want everything to be done for them

 

[Dana22]

No, its misdemeanor. Legally speaking.

 

[LuckyClover95]

It really bothers me. Can't people hold onto it until they find a bin, or at least put it on a wall or something?

 

[Dags90]

It's essentially trivial vandalism, unless you've got explicit consent from the property owner. In which case it isn't littering, it's the much funnier "dumping" which may or may not even be illegal.

It's also just gross.

 

[TheOneandOnly]

It really bothers me. Can't people hold onto it until they find a bin, or at least put it on a wall or something?

Apparently they can't. I was at a train station the other day, bins up and down the platforms and yet the amount of litter strewn along the tracks was disgusting.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah. Not a serious crime, but still...grrr...

 

[Lightning Delight]

It is very annoying and inconsiderate. You are not the only person on this planet, so don't mess it up for the rest of us! That being said, I don't mind when people litter biodegradable materials like apple cores or orange peels.

 

[StBishop]

Yes. I pick up other people's litter.

EDIT: I often point this out to them.

No, its misdemeanor. Legally speaking.

No such thing in many countries, mine included.

So a misdemeanour is a non-criminal activity? Is it punishable by law? Because really that makes it a crime surely?

 

[AceDefective]

Bugs me but the world keeps spinning

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

Yes, yes I do

I am reminded of the time I saw someone about my age (17-19) drop their candy wraper on the ground.

I shouted "STOP RIGHT THERE, CRIMINAL SCUM! NO ONE BREAKS THE LAW ON MY WATCH". People turned and looked at him. He sheepishly picked up the wraper, and then darted off. It was a good day.

 

[Jedoro]

Yeah, it annoys me too. It's probably the worst when there's a garbage can in clear sight and someone still dumps their trash on the ground.

This

I also hate when people throw trash out their car window. There's plenty of room to hang onto it until you get out, jackass.

 

[geizr]

It is a legal crime(albeit, a very minor one; as someone said, a misdemeanor), but it is not morally wrong, just sloppy and lazy. However, even though it is not morally wrong, littering does present some deleterious consequences regarding safety and sanitation, which can adversely affect others. It is because of these potential adverse effects on others that litter is regarded as a crime; essentially, it affects the overall domestic tranquility.

Not all things are crimes for reasons of morality. Sometimes, certain actions can be crimes because they inhibit or have a negative impact on the overall social stability and prosperity.

My own opinion is that you should always clean up your mess. If there is not an appropriate trash receptacle nearby, just hold onto the trash until you can find an appropriate receptacle in which to dispose of the trash. Do not spit, urinate or defecate on sidewalks or other areas of public access; instead, find appropriate lavatory facilities(I've seen you guy urinate outside a CVS and got into serious trouble, and I was at a court hearing in which another person had been arrested for defecating in public). Clean up the feces from your pets and dispose of it in an appropriate receptacle. These are just basic rules of cleanliness and sanitation that prevent the spread of disease and parasites and reduce infestation of pests(such as rats and roaches) in residential and public access areas.

An old friend and I had a rule when we were kids and visited over each other's house, "you mess up; you clean up". This kept everyone honest from making big messes cause neither of us wanted to be the one to have to clean. I've personally carried this rule into adulthood, and it governs my behavior even today regarding how I try to keep my environment around me. This is not to say that I won't clean-up messes that have obviously been caused by others(I value a clean environment over strict rule-enforcement), but I definitely get very irritated at having to clean-up a mess caused by some sorry-arsed, lazy bum who was too pathetic to simply pick-up after him/herself.

 

[geizr]

Yes its illegal, yes its really annoying. Especially those smokers who toss butts that don't properly biodegrade and kill wildlife.

Oh, yes! On the subject of cigarettes. This is probably the greatest annoyance at people who toss the butts from their cars. There is an ash-tray in the car for a reason, people!

 

[MasterOfHisOwnDomain]

People seem to forget that these wonderful things called pockets and bins exist. Pockets, so that if you're out and about you just put your rubbish into them; and bins so that you put your rubbish into one when you either see one in the street, or at home.