[WillowTheWhisp]

Originally Posted by katex

They are not an exception, did I say that, did I ?? (In my best Catherine Tate impersonation ... ) Same way as food wrappers should not be an exception.

So, Willow, when you are 'out somewhere' what type of litter do you have then. ?

Did I say that they were? Did I direct my comments at you personally? I was responding to the thread. My point being that if I can take my litter home then surely others can take theirs (smokers included). You complain about your money providing litter bins for 'people who insist on feeding their faces outside in town centres' which is a rather offensive way of describing people who eat al fresco in town. You refer to them as 'bad-mannered people' because you were brought up to believe that people should not eat outdoors.

Look around and you'll see burger stands (outdoors), ice cream vans (outdoors) kiosk selling cold cans (outdoors) juice shop with one table and a couple of chairs but by and large the drinks are sold to be consumed outdoors. Times change Katex and people do eat and drink outdoors and where there are litter bins they hopefully place their litter in such bins.

I don't smoke but, unlike you complaining about litter bins for food wrappers/debris, I don't object to the provision of ashtrays attached to bins. In fact I think they are an excellent idea and it would make more sense to have more of them than not. However where they do not exist all I ask is why some smokers feel they then have the right to drop their stubs onto the floor. To me that seems more bad manners than eating or drinking.

You ask what type of litter I have when I am 'out somewhere' - please note that I did not say 'out somewhere' I said 'out somewhere where there are no bins' and that in my sentence I said that if I can take my litter home under those circumstances I don't see why smokers shouldn't do the same with their fag ends under similar circumstances. (I could lower myself to your level and say 'filthy disgusting smelly fag ends' but I'll resist that temptation ) So what does it matter what kind of litter I am referring to? It may be a sweet wrapper. It may be a drink bottle. It may be a paper bag. It could be anything. If there is a bin I will put it in a bin. If there is no bin then I will take it home.

All that I said was why can't smokers do the same? If there is nowhere to dispose of their cigarette end why can't they just stub it out and take it home to dispose of it there? Likewise gum chewers - if they have nowhere to dispose of the gum why can't they wrap it in the paper it came in and take it home to put in the bin?

If everyone either binned their litter or took it home the pavements would be nice and clean for everyone (themselves included) - mind you a few street cleaners might not be too pleased at being put out of a job