What do you do when a Council Officer walks up to you?

A ciggy butt is definitely litter, it's rubbish that you've dropped on the ground and IIRC they've been shown to not biodegrade in any reasonable timeframe under normal circumstances.

If it was cigarette or pipe ash I'd possibly argue slightly differently.


because it's waste, non biodegradable, and you're throwing it on the floor.
It's not really any different to a sweet wrapper or your polystyrene cup/burger box except for the size.

Or a leaf.
 
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Same officer was there today when i was having a smoke break. The person who was smoking also threw his cigarette in the same drain i did and walked away. Officer stopped him and try to fine him... before an argument broke out. The guy stood his ground saying it was private property.. before he upped and left. Both walked away
 
Same officer was there today when i was having a smoke break. The person who was smoking also threw his cigarette in the same drain i did and walked away. Officer stopped him and try to fine him... before an argument broke out. The guy stood his ground saying it was private property.. before he upped and left. Both walked away

You should stop doing it. The Police and ultimately courts could get involved and that’s just a pointless waste of everyone’s time.
 
I'm glad GD considers littering a really ****** trait. It's a personal pet peeve of mine.

I lived in Hong Kong in the 70s and they had a real litter issue. So a TV campaign was launched to shame people. The idea was that if you saw littering you pointed and said (gonna murder this but was 50 years ago) "Lap sap chung" (which basically meant Litter Bug). It caught on. It was very much "Invasion of the Bodysnatchers" where everybody pointed but it damn well WORKED. Litterer dropped massively. Of course now if you litter the Police will probably shoot you!!
 
Some twonk on the estate where I live drops their dog poo bags into the drains. These clearly have trapped air so don't go through the sump, just sit in the drains until we get torrential rain when some will randomly resurface into the road.
 
Good god, smokers are vilified. Sorry but people who rant/council/preach about smoking - most have never had a smoking addiction.

Dropping a butt down a drain rather than flicking into the road or treading it underfoot, the smoker has tried to rid the litter. The CO was a jobsworth.

The trouble is removing the few ashtrays that are around, like litter bins; if there are no bins, people will dump them.
 
yeah.. no bins about..
I don't want to complain because in my youth I flippantly did the same without care for environment with cigarettes but now I care I'm left wondering how people who litter are able to carry an object with use around with them, but as soon as the object is used, it's like a ticking time bomb and they are too scared to carry it somewhere to safely dispose of it, like in a bin

The worst are the ones who go to the beach, or hike up a mountain, like you carried your **** in a bag on your back, your **** is now lighter, put it back in the empty bag, or are you filling your bag with sand & rocks for the way back ???
 
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Good god, smokers are vilified. Sorry but people who rant/council/preach about smoking - most have never had a smoking addiction.

Dropping a butt down a drain rather than flicking into the road or treading it underfoot, the smoker has tried to rid the litter. The CO was a jobsworth.

The trouble is removing the few ashtrays that are around, like litter bins; if there are no bins, people will dump them.
:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:
 
Good god, smokers are vilified. Sorry but people who rant/council/preach about smoking - most have never had a smoking addiction.

Dropping a butt down a drain rather than flicking into the road or treading it underfoot, the smoker has tried to rid the litter. The CO was a jobsworth.

The trouble is removing the few ashtrays that are around, like litter bins; if there are no bins, people will dump them.


Or they could take it home, like you are meant to if there are no bins available for your litter.
 
Or they could take it home, like you are meant to if there are no bins available for your litter.

It is amusing the difference in attitude between people with cigarette butts vs something like a crisp packet. Most wouldn't dream of just throwing a crisp packet on the floor yet would have no concerns about a cigarette butt. Almost like because it's small it doesn't matter.
 
Seems reasonable.

Q) Is throwing a cigarette butt on the street or down a drain considered littering?

A) Yes, throwing a cigarette butt on the street or down a drain is considered littering. Cigarette butts are one of the most common forms of litter, and they pose significant environmental hazards. They contain toxic chemicals that can leach into the soil and water, harming wildlife and polluting ecosystems. Disposing of cigarette butts improperly, whether on the street, down a drain, or in any other inappropriate location, is a form of littering and is often subject to fines or penalties in many places.
 
As an ex smoker I have certain amount of sympathy here - whilst I'd never have dreamt of dropping "normal" litter... A cigarette butt somehow doesn't register in same category.
Maybe it's the effect of addiction scrambling the brain a bit or just lack of education.
 
Dropping a butt down a drain rather than flicking into the road or treading it underfoot, the smoker has tried to rid the litter. The CO was a jobsworth.
They've tried to hide it and actually made things worse by putting it down a drain.
Such a weird mentality that they somehow don't consider it litter... Like, wtf you think throwing trash on the floor is? Of course it's litter.
 
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