Onlooker shares photo after witnessing upsetting scene outside bus stop: 'Is it that hard to be decent?'

A Redditor on r/mildlyinfuriating vented their frustration after watching someone smoke several cigarettes and then throw them all on the ground. 

The Redditor then snapped a photo of cigarette butts and other pieces of trash scattered throughout the grass. 

They asked, "Is it that hard to be decent and not litter?"

To make matters worse, the Redditor described how "this spot of litter is literally 2 steps outside of a bus stop. WHERE THERE'S A TRASH CAN!"

Littering is illegal and unethical, but still extremely common. There are 50 billion pieces of trash alongside U.S. roads and waterways, according to Keep America Beautiful. That's 152 pieces of trash per person. 

A significant portion of the 50 billion pieces of litter is what the smoker threw away: cigarettes. Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world, making up one-third of all litter, per Truth Initiative. 

Whether it's chip bags and soda cans or cigarette butts and vapes, all litter is terrible for the environment.

Litter pollutes air, soil, and water, harbors and spreads diseases, and kills wildlife through entanglement or ingestion. Litter often ends up in waterways, where it can easily break down into microplastics.

Never litter, and try to clean up any trash you stumble upon if you can. You can make a huge difference by organizing or joining a neighborhood, beach, or park cleanup.

Commenters were equally frustrated with the smoker's behavior.

Do you think America has a plastic waste problem? Definitely 👍 Only in some areas 🫤 Not really 👎 I'm not sure 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"Why would anyone ever throw anything on the ground?" one user asked. "Do smokers even think about how much litter they produce, how much water they pollute and how easy it would be to prevent?"

"The worst are cigarette smokers and people who bring alcohol to forests/mountains but leave the empty bottles and cans there," another Redditor added.

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