Littering Throwing Garbage Out Of Cars

[Jax]

I was in Galveston yesterday near Jamaica Beach and we were parked on the beach and just hanging out and enjoying the ocean when a bunch of 20-something year old girls walked by. They got into their car (parked on the beach) rolled down the windows and then dumped a bunch of Starbucks cups, some used tissues, bottles, and some other random garbage out the window onto the sand and casually drove off.

I've noticed this a lot in Texas but this time it really bothered me because they were doing it on the beach. Dropping trash out the window on the 59 is bad enough but dropping it on the beach right next to where people are enjoying nature really made me mad. I would have told them what I thought if they had not driven away. They did it within sight of most of the people on the beach and nobody really seemed to notice or get mad like I did.

A few days ago after a big rain storm, somebody posted a video on Swamplot of all of the garbage going down the Bayou. I know waterways in big cities are generally not the cleanest, but I've never seen anything as bad as Buffalo Bayou. I think it gets so bad because people just throw their trash out onto the street and it washes into the bayou during a big rain. Again, I know this happens in big cities, but there is WAY more trash in the bayou here than in Toronto harbor or any of the creeks in Ontario, or the Niagara River, or in the St. Lawerence in Montreal or in the Chattahoochee in Atlanta or in San Francisco Bay....

So that leaves me wondering, is littering just a part of Texas culture? Why do people seem to litter here more than in other places in North America? This seems weird to me because Texans in general seem to love Texas more than the average person loves their state or province. If they love Texas so much then why do they not care about dumping their trash outside and degrading the natural beauty of their state? Can anybody answer this for me?

[sevfiv]

I wouldn't go as far to say it's a part of Texas culture, but it is part of a lazy and ignorant culture that is (imo) growing and growing..

Next time you witness it, take down the plates, make, model, and location of the vehicle and report it here:

http://www.dontmesswithtexas.org/report-a-litterer.php

Not the greatest, but it's something.

[Ross]

A few years back, I was waiting at a red light on Westheimer at Montrose, heading West. The 20 somethings in the car in front of me rolled down a window and tossed a couple of fast food bags onto the street. A gentleman sitting at teh bus stop took offense to this, stomped over to the car, picked up the trash and threw is back in the car. More of us need to do that, especially when there's little chance of retaliation, like the young women at the beach. I was raised to keep a trash bag in the car, and hate litter. People who toss crap out of the car are classless morons.

[KimberlySayWhat]

I would have loved to poke holes in their tires.

[JLWM8609]

If only a B-17 could've come up and gotten them, like in that old Don't Mess With Texas Commercial.

[Subdude]

I hate to say it, but I think that Texans do litter a lot. It is amazing and sad how much trash lines the roads, especially out in the country.

[editor]

I can't say that I've ever been in a state where I HAVEN'T seen people throw trash out of their cars. But I remember being shocked at how often it happened in Texas, especially in Houston. Texans take a lot of pride in living in Texas, but they don't treat it very well. They treat the state more like a mistress than a wife.

In Cincinnati I remember there were a number of one-way intersections with large trash cans with long chutes extended toward traffic so that the driver of the first car waiting for the light to change could properly dispose of his garbage. I'm not sure how much it helped, because I also remember Cincinnati being a pretty dirty city.

People who visit me always comment on how clean Chicago is. I don't think it's because Chicagoans are less likely to be litterbugs. It's because the city has an army of people with good old fashioned brooms who are constantly cleaning the city's streets day and night. Keeps the place looking nice, and it helps employ a lot of people with marginal education and work skills.

Every couple of days I'll see a tourist outside my building toss a cigarette butt or drop a sandwich wrapper. I ALWAYS walk up to them and inform them that we don't do that here. Since they're tourists (almost always from another country) they're freaked out at being confronted by an American and immediately pick it up. I point out at there is at least one trash can on every corner of the city, and to put the trash where it belongs. Fortunately, it's always tourists; if it was a local I'd probably get the beating of a lifetime.

[memebag]

On the TV show "Mad Men" last year, the family went for a picnic. After it was done, the dad took all the trash and just threw it out in a field. It was shocking because (on average) we litter a lot less than we used to. I remember a lot more littering when I was a little kid.

Littering isn't a modern thing or a Texan thing, it's a human thing; that's how we know so much about our distant ancestors.

[Jax]

Littering isn't a modern thing or a Texan thing, it's a human thing

I don't think anybody claimed that littering was strictly a Texan thing. I was just saying that people seem to litter more here than other places, and I wanted to know why. I'm glad people are littering less than in the past, but that doesn't really make me feel any better about seeing people casually throw trash onto a beach while onlookers ignore it.

[RedScare]

Littering isn't a modern thing or a Texan thing, it's a human thing; that's how we know so much about our distant ancestors.

I have little doubt that future genrations will know much more about Texans than other people.

Hard to believe, but it IS much better than it used to be, even as recently as 15-20 years ago, it was much worse. I even remember throwing trash out of my own window back then. I would never dream of it now, and often pick up litter up and down my street.

[20thStDad]

It's definitely not just Texas. I think it's mostly young people acting dumb, people who are dumb, and angry poor people. Deliberate littering should be punishable with mandatory jail time, especially cigarette butts. Johnny Redneck who loses trash out of the back of his pickup on the highway should be given a minimum $3000 fine, and if he fits in the angry poor category 3 nights in jail will suffice.

[UrbaNerd]

Don't mess with Texas, y'all. Come on now, srsly.

[memebag]

I don't think anybody claimed that littering was strictly a Texan thing. I was just saying that people seem to litter more here than other places...

I don't think Texans litter more than the human average. They may litter more than some other specific state, but I've seen no evidence of it.

[citykid09]

I don't know about being bad all over Texas, but its really bad in Houston. I created a thread about this a while back about how nasty, trashy and run down some parts of Houston are. When people see trash everywhere they just figure its okay to throw their trash out. I don't do it and I hate when I see people do it. I was at the mall yesterday and this lady just open her door and threw out her trash in the parking lot like it was nothing. It really makes me mad when I see this.

Houston just needs stricter fines for littering. I think all cities have the littering problem, but other cities have stricter rules and probably can clean it up a lot easier than in Houston because Houston is so big.

[musicman]

I've noticed this a lot in Texas but this time it really bothered me because they were doing it on the beach. Dropping trash out the window on the 59 is bad enough but dropping it on the beach right next to where people are enjoying nature really made me mad. I would have told them what I thought if they had not driven away. They did it within sight of most of the people on the beach and nobody really seemed to notice or get mad like I did.

did you pick it up or just whine and do nothing?

I'm glad people are littering less than in the past, but that doesn't really make me feel any better about seeing people casually throw trash onto a beach while onlookers ignore it.

weren't you an onlooker?

[editor]

One thing I will say has changed a lot since I was a kid is pop tops. I remember there being hundreds of them scattered around beaches and we always had to keep an eye out for them. Now that the cans have been redesigned, at least there's one piece of litter we don't see anymore.

Now if we could invent a cigarette butt that dissolved in a couple of days, that would be great.

[foxmulder]

One thing I will say has changed a lot since I was a kid is pop tops. I remember there being hundreds of them scattered around beaches and we always had to keep an eye out for them. Now that the cans have been redesigned, at least there's one piece of litter we don't see anymore.

Now if we could invent a cigarette butt that dissolved in a couple of days, that would be great.

Now,i wouldnt've picked it up... People act so ignorant in stores too...People should appreciate business let them use the restroom. GROWN people ____ on the toilet and leave a mess! People have the "ah it's not mine i don't give a *** "attitude. What really drives me nuts in when people throw cigarettes out the window...You car already smells like crap keep the damn thing in your car OR atleast put it out!

[Jax]

did you pick it up or just whine and do nothing?

Of course I picked it up, do you think I am stupid or something? I find it insulting that you even asked, given what I wrote in my first post on this thread.

weren't you an onlooker?

Yes, but as I said I was too far away to get to the car in time (they can drive faster than I can run). If you must know the details, I was away from the parked cars maybe a hundred yards away sitting on the beach in a less crowded spot. They threw the trash in the area where cars were parked on the beach and where most of the people were sitting. Most people like to put their towel down next to their car but I on the other hand like to walk down the beach away from the noise and exhaust. If I had been right next to them I would have said something. There were about 30 or 40 people who witnessed the trash throwing, a majority of which were not more than 10 feet from the car.

All of these facts are kind of irrelevant except that I now feel like I need to defend myself. I feel like I am on trial or something.

After I saw them dump their trash I walked down the beach to see what it was and threw the used kleenexes and cups away in the nearest trash can (about 5 feet away).

[musicman]

Of course I picked it up, do you think I am stupid or something? I find it insulting that you even asked, given what I wrote in my first post on this thread.

I must have missed the part where you said you picked it up. oh wait, you never said that. instead you went on to question whether Texan culture was the cause.

So that leaves me wondering, is littering just a part of Texas culture? Why do people seem to litter here more than in other places in North America?

There are other places in North America where the trash situation is worse. here it's younger, lazy arses.

[Pumapayam]

I wouldn't go as far to say it's a part of Texas culture, but it is part of a lazy and ignorant culture that is (imo) growing and growing..

Next time you witness it, take down the plates, make, model, and location of the vehicle and report it here:

http://www.dontmesswithtexas.org/report-a-litterer.php

Not the greatest, but it's something.

I was second in line at the stop light, and the car in front, opened the door, poured the contents of a 20 oz. soda bottle in the street, and the flipped the bottle back over, laid it on the road and shut the door.

When I saw this, I honked out of anger, and she quickly hit the gas and flew halfway into the intersection while the light was still red.

She must of thought I was doing an impatient "green light" honk. I almost cause a huge accident over a plastic bottle.

[Jax]

I must have missed the part where you said you picked it up. oh wait, you never said that. instead you went on to question whether Texan culture was the cause.

I meant you could have reasoned that since I was angry that they threw garbage out of the car, and since I got close enough to see that it was dirty kleenexes and coffee cups, that I most likely threw it away. To imply that I might have let it sit there and complain about it is insulting given the fact that I went to the trouble to write about it on here.

I'd appreciate it if you would stay out of this thread unless you have something constructive to add.

[sevfiv]

She must of thought I was doing an impatient "green light" honk. I almost cause a huge accident over a plastic bottle.

Na, she maybe had a tiny bit of her conscience creeping up on her and it was out of guilt/wanting to run away

Of course, people who enter an intersection without looking at both their light and presence of cars need to pay more attention, regardless of their obnoxious littering habits.

[houstonfella]

Let's don't forget the trash that flies from pickup truck beds. Good grief. The other day I was involved in a near accident because some plywood strips had flown out of a truck onto the freeway and folks were panicking and swerving. But that wasn't as scary as the darned washing machine that bounced from a truck going across the Ship Channel Bridge that had the traffic swerving (about 12 years ago).

[Gary]

I meant you could have reasoned that since I was angry that they threw garbage out of the car, and since I got close enough to see that it was dirty kleenexes and coffee cups, that I most likely threw it away. To imply that I might have let it sit there and complain about it is insulting given the fact that I went to the trouble to write about it on here.

I'd appreciate it if you would stay out of this thread unless you have something constructive to add.

Jax, I for one appreciate your concern about littering in the area, especially seeing that your not a native. Some people are just pissed off as a way of life, and as a result inflict sarcasm constantly.

Anyway, as a musician that has traveled all over this country, I can say that there is no city as bad as Houston where littering is concerned. I've witnessed trash throwing as was mentioned, and I've come about two seconds from beating a guys face over it. Just talking about this ticks me off.

[RedScare]

Of course I picked it up, do you think I am stupid or something? I find it insulting that you even asked, given what I wrote in my first post on this thread.

Maybe he was just judging you based on how he would have reacted.

[Jax]

Anyway, as a musician that has traveled all over this country, I can say that there is no city as bad as Houston where littering is concerned.

That sort of confirms my suspicion that this was a problem here more than other places. I know for a fact that waterways in Canada and Florida and Georgia aren't as littered with floating debris than the bayous here.

I apologize if I insulted anybody by asking if it was a cultural thing. I mean that seriously though. I know that people don't recycle here as much as they do in other states, people just aren't as concerned about things like that, and it seems to be at least partially a cultural thing. Maybe the same with littering?

Maybe they need a new "don't mess with Texas" campaign. Does that stuff really work though?

[Vertigo58]

I was in Galveston yesterday near Jamaica Beach and we were parked on the beach and just hanging out and enjoying the ocean when a bunch of 20-something year old girls walked by. They got into their car (parked on the beach) rolled down the windows and then dumped a bunch of Starbucks cups, some used tissues, bottles, and some other random garbage out the window onto the sand and casually drove off.

I've noticed this a lot in Texas but this time it really bothered me because they were doing it on the beach. Dropping trash out the window on the 59 is bad enough but dropping it on the beach right next to where people are enjoying nature really made me mad. I would have told them what I thought if they had not driven away. They did it within sight of most of the people on the beach and nobody really seemed to notice or get mad like I did.

A few days ago after a big rain storm, somebody posted a video on Swamplot of all of the garbage going down the Bayou. I know waterways in big cities are generally not the cleanest, but I've never seen anything as bad as Buffalo Bayou. I think it gets so bad because people just throw their trash out onto the street and it washes into the bayou during a big rain. Again, I know this happens in big cities, but there is WAY more trash in the bayou here than in Toronto harbor or any of the creeks in Ontario, or the Niagara River, or in the St. Lawerence in Montreal or in the Chattahoochee in Atlanta or in San Francisco Bay....

So that leaves me wondering, is littering just a part of Texas culture? Why do people seem to litter here more than in other places in North America? This seems weird to me because Texans in general seem to love Texas more than the average person loves their state or province. If they love Texas so much then why do they not care about dumping their trash outside and degrading the natural beauty of their state? Can anybody answer this for me?

What an irony, I was driving back from Galvez yesterday and once I got to Mall of the Mainland (45 heading in) there was a huge grass fire just on the right side. There were several fires trucks trying to extinguish the smoldering fire which was so thick you could hardly see on the frwy. It had to be a blasted cigarette butt from a car passing on 45 what else?

Think people, think!

[KinkaidAlum]

People litter everywhere but it does seem more widespread here.

In Boston, most of the littering I witnessed tended to come from people that didn't seem to care about themselves (crackheads, corner drunks, etc...) and the homeless.

At my new property, which is located on a fairly major thoroughfare in a nice neighborhood, I find junk every morning in my yard (beer cans, smoothie king cups, a beck's prime bag, etc...). I am assuming a lot of it is coming from local teens and maybe even Rice students (I am on the route from 59 back to Rice's campus). I can't wait until I move in because I think I might set up shop in my side yard with a BB-gun.

[sevfiv]

^I kind of gathered you were here now, but welcome back to Houston!

[editor]

There are other places in North America where the trash situation is worse.

Examples?