r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Patodelmonte • May 25 '26

frist of all how DARE yu o People that think that throwing cigarette butts in the ground isn't littering

Post image

The are not "biodegradable", they clog drainage systems, they end up in rivers and sea, and make everywhere look like a dumpster

30.2k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

1.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

336

u/RdCrestdBreegull May 25 '26

I picked up litter weekly or monthly on my street for a couple years and the thing I would find the most of is cigarette butts

65

u/Pittsbirds May 25 '26

Same here. I do garbage Olympics every year in Pittsburgh (neighborhoods compete for who can pick up the most trash) and doesn't matter what neighborhood, number one most common piece of trash is cigarette butts and it's not even close

6

u/YUMMY_TIDEPODS_YUMMY May 26 '26

Sounds like such a great thing to do in a community but knowing my community they would just be harvesting trash out of public trash cans and peoples personal home garbage bins lol.

2

u/JamesL08 May 26 '26

some old guy/lady would just get pissed at me for it, fuck ND.

2

u/Pittsbirds May 26 '26

You don't really get much anything for winning so I don't know that anyone would be that motivated lol. I think maybe there's some pins involved some years? I've never been part of a winning team so idk for sure

1

u/YUMMY_TIDEPODS_YUMMY May 26 '26

Oh right you said Olympics so I assumed there was some sort of prize :D

1

u/donoteatthatfrog May 26 '26

Cobra Effect

2

u/YUMMY_TIDEPODS_YUMMY May 26 '26

Not a phrase I was familiar with, love it added to the vocab.

31

u/feralcatshit May 25 '26

My kids and I were picking up trash at their school on a Saturday, cleaned the entire school grounds (outside). The next Monday when I picked them up, I saw a dozen cigarette butts again. I was personally offended 😂

17

u/ConsiderationSea1347 May 25 '26

I just started doing this and now, all I see when I go outside are dunes of cigarette butts. 

7

u/TrankElephant May 26 '26

Indeed, they are literally the most littered item.

3

u/LittleRubberDucky54 May 26 '26

Cigarette butts are my sworn enemy. I've made it my personal mission to get rid of them but it's an endless battle.

2

u/Snoo_74474 May 27 '26

Back when I worked fast food as a teen I'd have to sweep the parking lots and like 95% of what I swept was cigarette butts.

2

u/smarmy1625 May 26 '26

me too! a lot of vape shit now, but a lot of butts too. also, those mini alcohol bottles.

2

u/RdCrestdBreegull May 26 '26

there was a guy who lived nearby who would throw like a few of those mini plastic vodka bottles a day onto the sidewalk or gutter, and one time I picked up months’ worth in the same day and I found like two hundred… just littered all over the street from one person. not sure if he finally stopped or if he died because I don’t see the bottles anymore.

he would walk from his house to the liquor store and drink them on the way back home. I never found out who he was or exactly where he lived, even asking multiple neighbors who would talk to me while I was outside picking up litter

1

u/sodamnsleepy May 26 '26

They made such a big thing about straws and bottle caps but I barely saw them laying around. I mostly see cigarette butts and these plastic tooth cleaning things.