Took details of Litter Bug: Who do I give details to?

truthseeker said:
While I agree that littering is an offence and not nice for people to do it, somewhere inside me I just feel for something so minor that its rather petty for someone to be reporting it. Id rather not live in a society where I think people are watching and reporting my every move, if a piece of lint falls out of my pocket am I to be taken to court for it?
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So what's the cut off point?

One Butt - OK
Full Ashtray?
Clean Nappy?
Dirty Nappy?
Bin Liner?
 
Re: Took details of Litter Bug

Elphaba said:
OP could set up a support group for people affected by litter bugs
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Depends where you live, take a drive through some areas and see what a careless attitude to litter leads to. It was one cigarette butt, and taking into consideration there is another 19 butts to be disposed in that pack I'd be pretty sure the majority of them will find themselves casually thrown to the ground.
 
Ham Slicer said:
So what's the cut off point?

One Butt - OK
Full Ashtray?
Clean Nappy?
Dirty Nappy?
Bin Liner?
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Valid point, I just think it would be a nicer society if people were a little more concerned with being nice to each other rather than becoming self appointed litter police and reporting others for what seems to me (just my own opinion) a very minor matter.
 
truthseeker said:
Valid point, I just think it would be a nicer society if people were a little more concerned with being nice to each other rather than becoming self appointed litter police and reporting others for what seems to me (just my own opinion) a very minor matter.
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Also a valid point, but if it was a nicer society, people would have more consideration than to litter in the first place. The person that dodo saw littering is evidently not a particularly considerate person, so how else could s/he be expected to make the point?
 
LDFerguson said:
Also a valid point, but if it was a nicer society, people would have more consideration than to litter in the first place. The person that dodo saw littering is evidently not a particularly considerate person, so how else could s/he be expected to make the point?
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Perhaps by indicating to them to pull in and politely informing them they had just littered and its not very nice?
 
"Perhaps by indicating to them to pull in and politely informing them they had just littered and its not very nice?"

My dad is good a doing this with a smile. The car concerned was not moving much at all, he was a pedestrian. He handed them back their rubbish and told them they appeared to have dropped something. This was responded to by a stream of abuse and as soon as he stepped away and the traffic had moved on a bit they threw the rubbish out the window again. Needless to say he had the reg no and reported them, was asked would he be happy to go to court if it came to it and he said yes as he'd also seen the driver during their exchange and could identify him. Not surprisingly it didn't come to court/wasn't disputed.
 
Well at least it gives them the option to amend their ways without running straight off and reporting someone who may have absent mindedly let a butt drop out a window.
 
I beg to differ on the "absentmindedly". I've got to say I was brought up never to drop litter anywhere, ever. Similarly I never even start the engine of the car without putting on my seatbelt. So I really think it's not something you'd do absentmindedly . . . you either litter or you don't. In my initial example I would think that had he not had the opportunity to attempt to interact with the litterer he would have reported them straight off.
 
Re: Took details of Litter Bug

S.L.F said:
I blew the whistle on a guy who was running a business from his house illegally.
I was told I had to prove he was running the business from that address.
I sent the council flyers, details of his web site, news paper adverts, his phone book listings.
The only thing I didn't do was drag the man in himself to confess.
He's still running the business from his house, in the year and a half since I sent them a letter only 1 inspector has called to his premises.

My experiences with councils colours my view of these new 'initatives'.

A great idea but the various councils do damn all when it comes to the crunch, they just don't have the staff.
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How did you know that he was running the business illegally do you mind me asking?

Thanks
 
I agree that it's virtually impossible to absent-mindedly litter.

Bear in mind also that the simple act of reporting someone doesn't mean that they will automatically be hanged or jailed for twenty years. In reality, as has been pointed out in this thread, the likelihood of someone being convicted based on a single report is very small. But the very fact of a follow-up call or letter from the authorities should give all but the most hardened thug some pause for thought before dropping the next bit of rubbish on a street.

So I still say that reporting someone is the correct thing to do. By all means, politely challenge the person if you wish, but you do run a certain amount of personal risk in doing so and circumstances may not permit this - I'm not advocating The Sweeney-style car chases.
 
S.L.F said:
I blew the whistle on a guy who was running a business from his house illegally.
I was told I had to prove he was running the business from that address.
I sent the council flyers, details of his web site, news paper adverts, his phone book listings.
The only thing I didn't do was drag the man in himself to confess.
He's still running the business from his house, in the year and a half since I sent them a letter only 1 inspector has called to his premises.

My experiences with councils colours my view of these new 'initatives'.

A great idea but the various councils do damn all when it comes to the crunch, they just don't have the staff.
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JJ1982 said:
How did you know that he was running the business illegally do you mind me asking?

Thanks
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I called to the council and asked if he had planning permission to run a commercial venture from his house they said "No".
 
bond-007 said:
Sure if you have nothing to hide, what is the problem?
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I think if most people examined their lives they would all have committed minor transgressions or performed trivial acts that could result in a day in court. How many of us have taken an illegal turn, gone a little over the speed limit, had a piece of paper or receipt whipped out of our hands and blown off before we could grab it, thrown a butt out of a window unthinkingly, played our music too loud and bothered a neighbour or whatever.
 
At that stage you should have complained about the lack of PP and had enforcement action taken against him.
 
If you were a motorcyclist following behind this inconsiderate person you could get their butt in your face with possible fatal consequences.

There should be zero tolerance on butt throwers. They are the scourge of Ireland.
 
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