Littering: What Would You Do?

Feb. 22, 2008 — -- Litter. You see it. You know it's there. But when you see litter in your community, how do you feel? Does it sadden or anger you? When you see someone litter, do you ask them to pick it up? Do you pick it up? Do you just ignore it?

In the "Primetime" series "What Would You Do?" hidden cameras have captured people's reactions to everything from elder abuse to racism to loud people on cell phones.

"Primetime" decided to see how people in Long Branch, N.J., a seaside resort town a little more than an hour from New York City, would react to "The Litterbug from Hell."

Watch the premiere of the series "Primetime: What Would You Do?" Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET

While Long Branch drew more than 111,000 visitors to its beaches this summer, on one windy, overcast day, the beach was uncharacteristically empty.

What activity there was seemed confined to the boardwalk shared by strollers and occasional joggers … and a young man on a bench who thoughtlessly tossed all kinds of litter on the boardwalk. Within moments there was a substantial pile of trash at his feet.

There was no question that people noticed this litterbug. Some momentarily stopped to take in this bizarre scene, but kept on going.

Then an older man came striding up the boardwalk and noticed the young man and the pile of litter blowing around.

"Hey, it's blowin' away," he yelled while remaining a safe distance from the young man.

The young man gestured as if he did not understand, which annoyed the older man.

"You gonna pick it up? No, right? Who cares, right? I gotcha," he said. "Thanks a lot. Have a great day."

And with that, the man stormed off and later pulled out his cell phone to call police.

But what he and the others didn't know was that the litterbug was really an actor hired by "Primetime." With hidden cameras rolling, producers were watching to see whether anyone would react to this blatant disregard for the environment.

A family of German tourists seemed visibly troubled by the mess the actor was making. But America's reputation for violence made them think twice about intervening.

"I didn't want to get in trouble with my family," said Christopher Wetzel, vacationing with his wife and two children. "You never know if he's going to pull out a gun and, you know. … You heard these bad stories, you know? Things can happen."