To have told a lady she had "dropped something" when it was a cigarette butt?

[Daffodilly]

Was walking along street and came up behind a middle aged lady when she dropped her cigarette butt on the floor, half heartedly stamped on it (missed) and kept walking. Litter bug!

As I overtook her I said very politely and in uber-helpful manner, "Excuse me I think you just dropped something". She headed back to look for the lost item. I just carried on my way.

Was it a bit cheeky? Just see red when people (esp, those that should know better) litter and as for leaving lit cigarette on floor....

no

She is a very angry smoker by the looks of it.

Places like Muji sell portable ashtrays. I hardly ever smoke when I'm out but, on the occasions I did, I always carried a portable ashtray with me and put my cigarette butts in it. I constantly had people (smokers and non-smokers) commenting on how "weird" I was

When I went through a particularly self-righteous phase, I bought a number of those ashtrays and handed them out to people I saw dropping their butts outside my local station. Went down a treat with some, not so well with others ... then again, I do live in Croydon

PMSL at RichardGereandtheGuineaPigs I have the guy wasn't in and had to make a special trip to the post office to collect

Southeastastra - my mum is a heavy smoker, and when she keeps a small tin in her handbag, in which she can stub out her cigarette, then put the butt until she gets home and puts it in the bin.

Though she didn't buy one from Muji - her's is an old Strepsils tin - from the last century, when strepsils actually came in tins! I am torn between pride in my mother for her civic awareness, and shame that she isn't using a special Muji portable ashtray.

LittleMrsHappy - the point about what the OP and others have done is that if everyone ignores the litter louts, the problem will never get better. I know the chances are very very small that those that do take this sort of action are actually going to make Britain pick up its rubbish, but at least they are trying - better than giving up, I think.

Indie - I probably wouldn't do it to anyone I am afraid. A telling sign of the times and place we live in. But it did cross my mind that this woman ought to know better and she happened to do it right in front of me. We are in London, plenty of bins around.

As for what I hoped to get out of this post... a bit of discussion/banter/similar stories and just to share a moment in my day with ADULTS that might just appreciate where I am coming from. DD aged 3 didn't really seem to get it!

I always put mine in the nearest bin full of paper. It livens the afternoon up for those really bored people following me.

Actually I don't smoke when I'm out, but I'm going to start so I can do that.

I hope those who pick up the butts and chase after people do the same with dog shit.

onagar - funny you should say that. I did once tell a bloke that his dog had shat down the street but he threatened me. People who let their dogs poo everywhere tend to be scum.

A friend of a friend was walking with his toddler, saw a man ignore his dog crapping on the path, so called after him. Dog-owner shrugged and walked off, so irate father picked up the crap and smeared it on the back of dog-man's coat

Dangerous, but I hope it's not an apocryphal story .

YANBU - excellent move

Now smearing on the coat, that is just silly ......

What you need is a James, retired Army captain who lives down the road, he notes them, picks up the poo, follows them a few days later and when the coast is clear posts it through their letter box in a bag with a small note that says you "lost" this on Accacia Avenue.

He is a legend in this part of Surrey, and rarely has to buy a drink when we are all in the pub.

RichardGere: [thumbs up emoticon]

I use an old tobacco tin as my portable ashtray, and have done for years'n'years. Not only does that mean the detritus is contained until I get home and empty it in my own bin, it's also much safer to put a lit ciggie into the tin where it goes out rather than risk putting it somewhere where it might cause a fire. I also hate the butts getting left around. When I worked at my local hospital, there used to be unofficial smoking areas, and even when the hospital put cigarette bins in those areas there were still people (mostly staff!) who just dumped the butts on the ground. In my last job there, my office building was next door to the estates people's base, and when I was outside for a ciggie we'd often chat. One was a smoker, and even he resented having to spend time going round the site picking up ciggie ends. Smoking is disgusting enough; the piles of ciggie butts is just as bad.

[Currently trying to wean myself onto e-cigarettes as the first step. Should my offspring have children, I know full well that they wouldn't bring a LO here if I continued to smoke (even if solely in my den) ? and I wouldn't argue with that at all.]

I'm a smoker, and I wouldn't EVER throw a cigarette butt on the floor. And have done the whole "I think you've dropped something" to other smokers. How can I teach my DC's not to throw litter around if they have seen me doing it? I have a little 'butt bin' that lives in my handbag in case there is no specific bin near me to dispose of it. My DC's are particularly good at going up to other random litter bugs and saying "you're meant to use a bin you know ".

Good on you - ugly and Loudlass.

I had no idea of the existence of Muji portable ashtrays and the like

a man chucked his 'wrapped' dog crap in my skip - i was gardening
i asked him to take it out - he did but revoltingly smarmy kind of ' you are joking?'

i said 'no - but thats fine - next time i pass yours i will dump my baby crap on your step'

That did surprise me a bit, NotAnOtter - if it was wrapped/bagged and going into a skip on the road, I wouldn't have had a problem with that, myself - though if the skip was on your drive, then it was cheeky.

it was the 'you are standing in your garden and i am depositing something in your skip'
that got me

That's fair enough, NotAnOtter - it was certainly cheeky!

RichardGere - my hero!

I often berate people for dropping litter, my dh reckons someone is going to kill me one day.

Once I was crossing the road where cars were waiting at a traffic light. A guy in the queue put his window down and threw some litter onto the road. I scooped it up and walked up to his car window with a big smile and said 'excuse me?' - cue bloke looks up at me with big grin 'you dropped something' I said and threw it all onto his lap and briskly marched off!