Cigarette butt litter made by one person

YellowLead

Hi all, I live in an apartment in Maynooth which I am renting. There is a guy who doesn’t live in my block, though nearby, but he parks his car in front of my block - fair enough perhaps there isn’t room where he lives. My issue is that he sits in his car smoking and throws all the butts on the ground. The footpath is destroyed with them and it looks ugly - kids play on the ground nearby and everything.

What I think I will do is just clean them up and say nothing. I hate confrontation. If I owned my apartment instead of renting then I might feel more courageous. I hate confrontation!

In general a lot of others in the area seem to be pretty lazy in taking care of things. The communal bin area is horrendous. People leave rubbish on the ground instead of putting them in the bins. Then they put normal waste rubbish in the recycling bin. My doormat keeps getting stolen. Drives me crazy.

What would you do - would you say something to the guy who is littering with his cigarettes and if so how would you word it?

Rosahane

YellowLead wrote: »

Hi all, I live in an apartment in Maynooth which I am renting. There is a guy who doesn’t live in my block, though nearby, but he parks his car in front of my block - fair enough perhaps there isn’t room where he lives. My issue is that he sits in his car smoking and throws all the butts on the ground. The footpath is destroyed with them and it looks ugly - kids play on the ground nearby and everything.

What I think I will do is just clean them up and say nothing. I hate confrontation. If I owned my apartment instead of renting then I might feel more courageous. I hate confrontation!

In general a lot of others in the area seem to be pretty lazy in taking care of things. The communal bin area is horrendous. People leave rubbish on the ground instead of putting them in the bins. Then they put normal waste rubbish in the recycling bin. My doormat keeps getting stolen. Drives me crazy.

What would you do - would you say something to the guy who is littering with his cigarettes and if so how would you word it?

I'd pick up all his butts and put them back on his car in the recess at the back of the bonnet beside the wiper blades!

Captain Red Beard

Rosahane wrote: »

I'd pick up all his butts and put them back on his car in the recess at the back of the bonnet beside the wiper blades!

Yep, that is the acceptable solution.

Davidth88

Rosahane wrote: »

I'd pick up all his butts and put them back on his car in the recess at the back of the bonnet beside the wiper blades!

Beat me to it

PaybackPayroll

Rosahane wrote: »

I'd pick up all his butts and put them back on his car in the recess at the back of the bonnet beside the wiper blades!

I wouldn't go near them!
They've been in his mouth.

Strumms

PaybackPayroll wrote: »

I wouldn't go near them!
They've been in his mouth.

Brush and dustpan you don't have to.

baaba maal

I'm not keen on confrontations either, but in this case I think it is entirely reasonable to politely ask this person to not leave the cigarette butts on the ground. If they react with anything other than "fair enough", that is on them.

I'd make a point of going out with a dustpan and brush just as he discards one and sweep them up while simple saying something like "Come on, this isn't on."

He may very well say "Fair enough" and stop. He may be just like you and not keen on confrontation.

If he responds like a bollocks, you can either just leave it at that or use some of the advice above.

AndrewJRenko

Is the parking and the dumping on a public road? If so, you could report it to the Council litter warden for official action, if you don't fancy the 'tidying up' approach suggested above.

If it is on private land, such as part of your apartment complex, it is a bit trickier.

colm_mcm

Deleted User wrote: »

I'd make a point of going out with a dustpan and brush just as he discards one and sweep them up while simple saying something like "Come on, this isn't on."

He may very well say "Fair enough" and stop. He may be just like you and not keen on confrontation.

If he responds like a bollocks, you can either just leave it at that or use some of the advice above.

Only problem with that is they’ll know you did it.

We did this before with a neighbour who was dumping bin bags beside the bins (fancy swipe card system that you had to pay by use for). He left his car unlocked one evening and all his rubbish somehow ended up in the back of his car.

Victor

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Is the parking and the dumping on a public road? If so, you could report it to the Council litter warden for official action, if you don't fancy the 'tidying up' approach suggested above.

If it is on private land, such as part of your apartment complex, it is a bit trickier.

Littering on private property is also an offence. Get the vehicle registration, take some photos and keep a log.

matchthis

I’d say go with the first recommendation. Build up a bit of stock first, ash and all, then tip over windscreen at the start of a freezing night. Chances are, he’ll just throw them all on the ground again. Collect these up and if problem persists, you have a stash ready to go. That would be as annoying as a someone letting air out of a driver side tyre