Many homeowners have experienced "that neighbor." You know who — the one who parks a little too close to your car, or whose music is a little too loud, or who you hope doesn't make a scene when you have company over.
One Reddit user, however, is experiencing a frustration that could blow up into something much worse.
A post in the r/BadNeighbors subreddit details her plight. According to the Redditor, her new neighbors keep throwing cigarette butts into her lawn. On at least two occasions, the homeowner caught the action on camera.
"These people are not confused about what they're doing," the poster wrote.
The Redditor, who owns her home, lived there for two years before the new renters moved in next door. She explained that for a number of reasons, she and the neighbors haven't gotten along. Because of that, she preferred not to discuss the issue with them directly and instead was looking for "options that have worked for people to take definitive action" to stop such littering.
The CDC notes that cigarette butts are "the largest single type of litter by count," which has prompted some creative global solutions for their removal. In Slovakia, the capital city wants to turn recycled cigarette butts into asphalt roads. One Swedish city is using crows to clean up cigarette butts, potentially saving the town millions of dollars in cleaning costs.
In addition to the environmental concerns, cigarette butts can cause major harm if not handled properly. The Environmental Protection Agency notes that more than 500 people die each year in smoking-related fires.
"No buts about it, cigarettes can cause fires, and how you dispose of your cigarette butts may make all the difference in the world," the agency says.
Most commenters sympathized with the Redditor and encouraged her to speak up about the situation. But despite the original poster's insistence that she didn't want to take retaliatory action, many commenters suggested a vengeful approach.
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"You need to get a trash grabber and toss them back," one user suggested. "Every single day."
The original poster followed up later, saying she eventually spoke to one of her neighbors, who vowed the butt-dumping would stop. If it continued, the poster said, she would reach out to the homeowner.
"May everyone have a new year with less crappy neighbors," she added.
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