On dating and dumping

Before you wonder if you’ve wandered onto the wrong blog, yes this is a post about dating! But it’s also about the environment. If you’re wondering how the two are related, we have one word for you: deal-breaker!

Dating deal-breakers

We’ve all got things we look for in a potential love interest. Maybe you’d prefer to date someone who’s also a musician, or who loves surfing as much as you. Most of us also have a mental list of things they’d like their mate NOT to have- maybe you’d rather not date a smoker or someone who lives too far from you. These lists probably have a few items that are non-negotiable. These are your deal-breakers.

A good friend once said that if he found himself single again and was on a date with a lady who threw rubbish out her car window, the date would end then and there. He said he’d ask her to pull over and let him out- and never look back! It wouldn’t matter how well they got along; littering for him was a total deal-breaker. Everyone else present agreed that they’d never thought about it before but agreed that they would have an issue with it, too.

Another friend was once waiting for her then boyfriend to meet her for a date. As he approached her with a big smile on his face, he spat his chewing gum out onto the ground so he could kiss her without gum in his mouth. Her response? She insisted that he go back and pick it up! At first he was shocked at the response, but he did bin it, and she never saw him litter again. Amazingly, sometimes adults do need to be reminded that littering is not ok.

No second date

It seems that lots of other people feel the same way. The Journal conducted a poll on this issue several months ago. They asked readers whether they would agree to a second date with someone who littered on a first date. At the time of writing, 84% of respondents said no. http://www.thejournal.ie/poll-if-someone-littered-on-a-first-date-would-you-see-them-again-2-3386515-May2017/

The poll was part of a sponsored post by the Gum Litter Taskforce which seeks to highlight the issue of the incorrect disposal of used chewing gum: http://gumlittertaskforce.ie/ Chewing gum is one of the worst forms of litter as it is costly to remove from street surfaces. It’s not hard to dispose of it properly and doing so will mean you won’t risk a fine.

How about you- how would you react if your date dropped litter in front of you? Would you let them know if was a deal-breaker for you? We love this video from Don’t Trash Arizona which perfectly sums up how we feel about it!