GARBAGE (Ad Nauseam!)

[Photoz]

While I realize this garbage issue has been beaten to a bloody pulp, there is ONE SPECIFIC item MANY people don't seem to feel is garbage, and feel free to toss where they are finished with it. "NO O O O O," I imagine many of you must be thinking as you start to read this . . . . "Whatever could he be thinking?"m One peeve I have yet to see a SPECIFIC discussion on . . . and my bet is, SOME of you are guilty of such . . . . . without ever giving it a thought! DISCARDING CIGARETTE BUTTS!! About a month ago, I was fishing the Ganny, on the west side parking lot, just south of the footbridge. VERY slow day . . . I'm bored . . . area only had a couple coffee cups and bait containers laying around . . . . . AHA!! CIGARETTE BUTTS . . . . LOTSA CIGARETTE BUTTS, from Saturday & Sunday's fishin' crowds!! (And people just walking around, checking the place out too!) So, I took a plastic container outta the garbage, and walked about a 200' stretch of riverbank, up to 20' back of the water . . . . . . ONE HUNDRED & SEVENTY SEVEN discarded butts!! When ya look along ANY well-fished shoreline, it's the same . . . . are cigarette butts NOT considered garbage to many who smoke? And from what I see, a VERY disproportionate number of anglers, compared to the general over-all population, do smoke? (And shore anglers are NOT the only guilty ones, I see plenty of boaters flickin' their butts overboard without another thought?) I'm NOT trying to stir anything here, just get a TRUE picture of how small something has to be, to be considered worthy of being placed in a trash container? I suppose a no-filtered cigarette butt wouldn't take long to disentrgrate into nothing, but . . . . a filter? Any comments on THIS??

[largemouth]

177 butts eh, good onya, they say over 80 million cigarette butts make their way into Ontario waters each year.

[Ben_Daniels]

i see this all the time its pretty sad , i read somehwere that a ciggartte butt will last something like 5 YEARS before it will disintergrate..

[boatman]

You've hit my #1 pet peeve right on the head, Photoz. It takes on average 12 years for a cigarette butt to decompose. And that's assuming it is in a good degrading environment. They belong in the trash not on the river bank, in the lake, out the window or on the side walk.

 

The only thing you can leave behind is natural compostable materials such as food waste. Paper coffee cups do not fall under "natural compostable materials", however, they do less harm in the natural environment than in the landfill so its a double edged sword. You should still pack them out and put them in your composter, wet waste recycle bin or dry them and put them in with your paper waste.

[lunkerbasshunter]

i quite smoking 2 1/2 years ago. when i did smoke i always put the butt out and threw it in a garbage bag that i always had with me for my lunch, water bottles, fishing line.

 

 

butts are litter. no question about it!

 

Cheers!

[Beans]

The only thing legitimate and ethical to leave behind...that's easy...

 

FOOTPRINTS !

[Nanook]

Leave the site cleaner than when you arrived.

 

My wife frequently gives me S*** for leaving Butt's in my pocket.

[fatherof3]

as a smoker I still have to agree that butts are garbage. I usually try to not even smoke when fishing(should quit anyway) but if I do have one the butt goes in my pocket

[fatherof3]

as a smoker I still have to agree that butts are garbage. I usually try to not even smoke when fishing(should quit anyway) but if I do have one the butt goes in my pocket

[English]

We have exactly the same problem over here, there are a lot of disrespectful anglers here too. I am a non smoker quite anti really my apprentice isn't even allowed to smoke on my customers property I make him go down the road and he has to find a drain to get rid of the butt.

 

The inconsiderate smokers of the world should be ashamed of the mess they make, I see other types of litter too left around riverbanks. I sometimes can't believe it is adults must be kids?? but what on earth are they taught in school to treat the countryside like that and where were their parents when manners were being handed out.

[SBCregal]

English,

 

Where does it go when he tosses it down the drain? Isn't that the same as tossing it on the side of the street or something similar?

[Greencoachdog]

So the fish weren't biting that good that day? Cigarette butts make excellent Flies and topwater baits! Save all the ones you pick up during the summer, and on those long cold Canadian winter nights..........

[Daplumma]

I wish they would do away with filters on them cancer sticks.I hate seeing them on the side of the road and in the water.The paper and tobacco will go back to mother earth very quickly but them filters take a long time.

Joe

[English]

English,

 

Where does it go when he tosses it down the drain? Isn't that the same as tossing it on the side of the street or something similar?

 

Existentially I suppose you could say that in a weird sort of way, not an ideal solution to a very real problem but better than just tossing them in the street for children and non smokers to see and mentally have to deal with, or in the park or heaven forbid at the waters edge where the filthy carcinogens will slowly leach out into the community and ultimately into my childrens dinner.

 

They will be processed at our water treatment works with all the other stuff we flush possibly within a few weeks with all the other sewage then dried and burned at the power stations or land fill either way better than being left on my customers drive or stinking my van up. Personally I think that smokers should eat them after smoking them that way a few more smokers would die quicker leaving the air cleaner for me to breathe and being less of a drain on our NHS. Maybe harsh but true.

 

Cheers

[fishermccann]

since when did this site become anti -smoking not anti- litter ?

[carp-starter]

Interesting. But what would non-smokers do if all remaining smokers quit smoking at the same time? Would the non-smokers be happy?

 

Oh, they will continue to b-i-tch but it will be for a different reason.

 

Why? Because taxes will go up and up. We all know what government is like. If they are short of money, they simply increase taxes. Look what the city of Toronto tried just now. And McDink has been doing it for the last several years even though he promised not to increase taxes.

 

All levels of government will feel the loss of cig tax money which will not be collected because no one will be smoking.

 

And who will feel the most of the tax loss? The non-smokers - because they also will now pay what the smoker had been paying.

 

And do not expect any decrease in health taxes. Very seldom does the government decrease taxes. But if they do, it will not come soon because it will take time for the smokers to get “healthy” before taxes can go down.

 

Now we should all go after the food eating people who are catching up quickly to the smokers and are causing many health issues. I think that these people are called the OBESE or the “FAT ONES”. Oh well, the obese is another topic for the non-smokers to talk about.

 

One thing is very obvious – there will always be something to b-i-tch about. If there were nothing to b-i-tch about, life would probably be boring.

 

One has to factor in a certain percentage of the bad and accept this fact. And then life will be wonderful and more perfect. I have.

 

Now I will go back and continue to de-barb my fly hooks cause I want to tie some new flies. De-barbing hooks is my area of whining right now. Oh poo, even in my semi-perfect life, I will b-i-tch.

 

Remember, whining causes STRESS which is not good for you.

 

carp-starter

:wallbash:

[English]

I am guessing here but I think in a continent the size of yours there may not be such a huge problem. My take on it is this 50% maybe more of smokers want cheaper smokes, and some don't care where they come from, our border control is virtually non existent, letting chinese, russian knockoff cigarettes with approx 3 times the nicotine levels enter our country by the lorry load. vis a vis no tax for the forgeries being paid into the governments coffers. I know people who do this and get this they would expect a lung replacement on the NHS that I have helped to pay for yet they haven't paid a correspondingly fair share for it.

 

I think that if you smoke you should collect traceable tokens like you used to get in cigarette packets for freebies, everyone used to collect them or give them to someone that did, these should be handed in from time to time proving a contribution to your countries NHS and then and only then should you be eligible for free treatment obviously attributed to smoking.

 

Only my opinion. I know a few will not agree I mean no malice to anyone.

 

Regards Clive

[bowshep]

Butts in the water GGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. l feel it is my obligation to inform them of Butt tossing. DON'T BE A BUTT HEAD. Peace Ken

[largemouth]

there is something about that "tssss" sound when a butt hits the water that is addictive.