Homeowner frustrated after neighbor's celebration turns into nightmare: 'Just being selfish'

Most people probably agree that celebrating the holidays shouldn't go hand-in-hand with harmful behavior, like spreading cellophane snowflakes over half the neighborhood. 

According to a Reddit post in the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit, a neighbor did just that, with cellophane ending up in the streets, gutters, and neighboring yards. "I feel like at this point, everyone knows and is just being selfish," observed one response post. 

Granted, cellophane is a bit of a mixed bag in terms of environmental impact, but Americans are still responsible for an estimated 50 billion pieces of litter along the nation's roads and waterways.

Technically, cellophane is a bioplastic, derived from cellulose, like wood pulp or cotton. However, it's only biodegradable under the right conditions. A 2021 study conducted by Compost Science and Utilization found that cellophane takes three to six months to break down in backyard compost. 

Certain cellophanes are coated as well, with the coating being more harmful than the cellophane itself. If you get into the cellophane production industry, that's where things really get nasty. 

A 2019 Environmental Science and Technology report flagged viscose plants for skimping on controls, releasing sulfur compounds into the atmosphere and water, and harming local ecosystems. 

Regardless of the manufacturing process, anyone comfortable with spreading cellophane snowflakes everywhere is likely to disregard the harmful effects of plastic littering, or worse. 

Plus, dogs and other pets throughout the neighborhood may end up consuming it, as one response post indicated: "Im going through the same thing but now its in my dogs poop because he ate a lot of it." 

Alone, cellophane is harmless to most dogs, unless they eat a lot of it. But coated cellophane could cause a range of issues in an animal's gut. Think "obstruction" rather than "destruction."

One neighbor's indiscretion could be your dog's indigestion and constipation. Unfortunately, celebrations with exorbitant levels of littering aren't likely to end anytime soon. 

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A response to the OP was sad and largely prophetic: "Just like that video from New Year's Eve that's been circulating where the whole city lets go of Mylar foil balloons into the sky. I was speechless."

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