Throwing garbage out of cars???

Question

This question is for those of you that throw trash anywhere but in a garbage can. Explain yourself to me and the rest of the yahoo community why you feel you have the right to do it..

Answer 1

The only garbage I toss out of moving cars is biodegradable stuff like butts and food.  I roll my own smokes so it is just very thin paper and tobacco which degrades very quickly.  Food is well, fertilizer or compost.  I don't think these things are what you are referring to though.  The reason people do toss out non biodegradable things, is because they don't care about you or your opinion.  If I wanted to play devil's advocate I could argue on their behalf.  What makes you think that they should care about you or your welfare?  According to human instinct, our strongest urge is to ensure our own survival.  As long as a person is accomplishing that, why should they care what happens to you?  If they have no children and don't care about the future, why should they worry about the world?  I don't feel this way, but I thought I would point out some probable causes for them doing this.

Answer 2

I saw it this morning. A car in front of me, the people were throwing trash out of the windows. I got the license number and called the sheriffs dept. non emergency. I carry a trash bag in my truck, that's where the trash goes. I lived in the big city for many years and people just don't care. The only justification for it is laziness.

Answer 3

I saw a police woman throwing a wrapper on the ground a few feet from a trash can in Boston awhile ago.   If they do it, why would anyone else bother walking the extra few feet to do whats right?

Answer 4

The ability to dispose of waste in an effective manner is important.  The only garbage I toss out of my car is cigarette butts.  Where I live there is the most minuscule chance of fire from it, and the butts are made from biodegradable cotton wrapped in biodegradable paper (not slow-degrading foam ones that accumulate on the roadside).  

The other option would be to place the butts in my car's ash tray, which would stink up my car (reducing its value) and needlessly expose my children to carcinogens.  I have made a choice for my own lifestyle, and they'll get that option to kill themselves slowly in the future.  I don't need to be adding to their risk right now.  By diffuse disposal, I am also slowing down the filling of landfills.

And as far as what right I have to dispose into the environment this way, I would simply point out that it is parallel to the rights that:

a woman passes estrogen to surface water and fauna via urine because she takes the pill for the convenience of family planning;

a motorist lower everyone's air quality and increases exposure to carcinogenic benzene for their convenience of driving;

nursing homes dispose of medications down the toilet;

farmers pass antibiotics into surface water by feeding them to their livestock (thus potentially creating "superbugs");

nuclear powers have increased world-wide concentrations of highly carcinogenic strontium through atomic testing;

that someone helps contribute to sulfur, mercury, and carbon dioxide emissions by not switching off lights or only using low-energy fluorescent/LED lights;

that the US and Britain dispose of spent uranium by shooting it at middle eastern countries (depleted uranium rounds);

and on and on.

If we want to make the world perfect and spend our efforts on what can make the greatest impact, a rant on garbage tossing from cars may not be the best use of effort.  After all, the non-degradable trashed tossed out of cars gives inmates motivation for good behavior, all for the chance to be outside for more than an hour or two per day.

There is my explanation to you, and the Yahoo! Community why I feel I have the right to impact the environment on a short term basis, and diffusely return to the earth what came from the earth.

Update: Thank you for the nod James.  I do try and see the issue in its entirety because my explanation/reason it rooted in bigger picture of waste, biodegradability, and potential harm/risks/benefits posed.  I gave my justification for my waste as value protection, child welfare protection, and negligible impact.  I could have also tossed in something like "I don't have to clean my ashtray/saves time," but I don't think that is a valid point.  While I don't personally toss anything that is not biodegradable out my window, I also gave justification for others actions in how it promotes good behavior in prisons and jails.  I feel that I have this right because so many others have the right to do so much worse.

Answer 5

it's all these new builders who can't be bothered to take their rubbish to the dump as it's classed as commercial.

so they drive past (or park for 5mins in the white vans) and dump rubbish in your street.

i've complained to the council, they do nothing, see my question.