A park-goer in Cincinnati was disgusted to find pink and blue litter strewn on the grass in what was clearly the aftermath of a gender reveal party that nobody had bothered to clean up.
"If you are going to have a gender reveal party in one of our awesome public parks, can you please pick up after yourself?" they wrote. "Honestly, what kind of entitled a******* do this?"
The commenters were similarly angered.
"This is disgusting," one person commented. "Cincy's parks are a treasure and need to be treated with respect."
Another agreed: "They probably posted it on social media. City should fine them."
Unfortunately, littering in public spaces is still common despite how it negatively impacts others.
"It's so rude," one person wrote. "Last year I saw about 50 blue balloons with lots of ribbons stuck in a very old oak [in] St Winton woods. What happened to cutting into a colored cake?"
Or better yet, one wrote, "What happened to NOT doing gender reveal parties?"
It's a valid question. Gender reveal parties are notorious for causing issues on a small and large scale, from triggering accidental explosions to sparking wildfires. They've been the cause of death, destruction, and pollution — yet people continue to conduct them irresponsibly, as in the case of this post.
"I live near a state park & they do this s*** all the time. Some of it in water areas where it can't be cleaned out," one person remarked. "Plus it's not biodegradable!"
The plastic pollution left by humans isn't just ugly — it's dangerous. Garbage releases toxins into the environment, harming soil and plants. Litter also often plays host to bacteria and other parasites, including disease-carrying mosquitoes. It's easy to step on, which could lead to injury. And once garbage is in an environment, it's usually there to stay; most litter, especially plastic, doesn't break down over time or at all.
Additionally, animals often end up mistaking these brightly-colored trash scraps for food. It then fills their stomachs, starving them to death while they're full of garbage. Smaller animals often crawl inside bottles and cups and become stuck.
"This s*** should be illegal," one person commented angrily.
Clearly, these parents-to-be should have recycled their confetti, looked into a sustainable alternative, or followed the suggestion of one commenter: "What happened to just telling people?"
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