Mother cleans park of cigarette butts with toddler, calls for end to littering

A mother in Samobor, Croatia, was dismayed to find a park frequented by children littered with cigarette butts. She decided to take action, beginning to clean up the discarded items with her two-year-old child.

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Today, my two-year-old and I were cleaning the Vugrinščak park of cigarette butts. We didn't manage to clean them all, of course, because there were too many. I appeal to smokers to stop throwing cigarette butts in parks and actually anywhere in nature because you have no right to destroy nature with your waste, and especially not in places where small children play.

"Today, my two-year-old and I were cleaning the Vugrinščak park of cigarette butts. We didn't manage to clean them all, of course, because there were too many," she wrote in a local Facebook group. She appealed to smokers, urging them to stop discarding their cigarette butts in parks and nature, stating, "You have no right to destroy nature with your waste, especially not in places where small children play."

Other parents shared similar frustrations. One recounted years of personally cleaning children's playgrounds, noting that it wasn't just young people responsible for the litter. "I saw many parents calmly throw a cigarette butt on the ground and step on it in front of their own child," he wrote, adding that the problem is widespread across playgrounds from Samobor to Zagreb.

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I saw many parents calmly throw a cigarette butt on the ground and step on it in front of their own child.

Another parent shared her method of responsible disposal, carrying an empty hand cream box to collect butts. However, one woman suggested the issue is broader than just smokers, stating, "It's not just a matter of smokers, but a general lack of culture. Because it's hard to pick up your own trash and throw it in the bin."

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It's not just a matter of smokers, but a general lack of culture. Because it's hard to pick up your own trash and throw it in the bin.