Canoeing and littering

Walter and I went canoeing yesterday. We planned on the Brazos River but could not access it with the canoe. Instead, we paddled on the Navasota River about 4.5 miles worth. We had to get out and drag the canoe in a couple of places. We found a few anglers on our trip and too much litter.

People go to nature to get away from it all but end up trashing the place.

We ran into a Brazos County Constable walking around trying to find an address among the trash at the river access point. He advised us of another access point to the Navasota.

I have trouble wrapping my mind around littering. Is this some kind of class thing that my middle class upbringing will never understand? I never see bottles or cans from a micro brew or regional beer company laying around (might have a different picture if I lived in Austin or Portland). See plenty of Bud, Keystone, and Milwaukee's Best cans and bottles but never Shiner or Guinness (or a malt liquor)*. I know people who drink Miller and Bud while fishing but they dispose of their empties properly. These folks have had the same middle class upbringing that I had. Every week I spend some time picking up beer cans that were thrown in my side yard (I live on a corner lot). I would think that everyone in the neighborhood is in pretty much the same economic class so why do I have to pick up beer cans and other litter out of my yard? Where is the transition point from it's okay to leave the empties to putting the empties into a container for pick up? Can anyone explain why some people litter?

*I would still find the litter annoying even if it was a better beer.