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Littering

LordBanksLordBanks Posts: 358
edited February 2009 in MTB general
When out the other day, i had a bananananananana (i never know when to stop spelling that word) and threw my peel in the bushes.

My mate had a proper go at me, saying i was littering the countryside and it was people like me that gave MTB'ers a bad name.

I told him it was alright, its biodegradable and it actually puts good stuff back into the ground and what-not.

Am i right or is my mate? Am i a litterer??

Posts

  • supersonicsupersonic Posts: 82,708 Lives Here
    It can look unsightly. But I do the same with organic matter. Chuck it where nobody can see it lol.

    I am always very careful when putting my banana in a bush.
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  • sniper68sniper68 Posts: 2,910
    If in doubt take it home.A few weeks to decompose isn't a lot but its still unsightly
    How long does it take for many so-called “natural” products to return to a natural state:

    * Paper: 2-5 weeks
    * Banana peel: 3-5 weeks
    * Orange peels: 6 months
    * Cotton rags 1-5 months
    * Cigarette butts: 1-12 years
    * Plastic or cardboard milk carton: 5 years

    I've lost count of the amount of inner tubes i've seen thrown in bushes :roll: I doubt they'll ever bio-degrade.
    Lynskey R480

  • birchybirchy Posts: 309
    my view is if there's enough room to take food,drink,etc out with you there's enough room to take it back :wink:
  • Uncle PeterUncle Peter Posts: 324
    If you dropped it in the street you'd get fined because it attracts vermin - chavs and the like, if the owner of the land saw you and was bloody minded (an censored ) he may state the same and you could get done for littering.

    As Supersonic said, you should be careful when putting your banana in a bush.
  • UncleMontyUncleMonty Posts: 385
    lol, I've had the very same argument with my wife, rots down and is food for worms I said.
  • myopicmyopic Posts: 692
    Sonic that's at least your 2nd double entendre in 2 days :lol: , did you think the pearl necklace for Valentine's wnet unnoticed? :wink:
    You don't need eyes to see, you need vision
  • hucking_fellhucking_fell Posts: 1,056
    I was almost banned from the gondola at Fortwilliam for dropping a banana skin from it.

    I was very humble and apologised several times so got away with it.

    I dropped it over a bit well away from the track and any paths too.

    It was maybe the 'you could take someone's eye out' arguement, not the littering that I was in bother for. Can't remember now.

    My bad :oops:
    More freerange chicken than Freeride God
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  • NorthwindNorthwind Posts: 14,675
    With fruit leftovers I tend to scrape a wee hole in the ground with my shoe and drop it in then cover it up, or squish it into mud... just because it looks bad otherwise.

    Next time you go riding, try and bring some litter home, it makes you feel good about yourself ;)
    Uncompromising extremist
  • WhytepeakWhytepeak Posts: 2,616
    What annoys me is people throwing their glucose fest gu wrappers to the side of the trails, seems to be getting better now that trail centres are improving.
    When you see our cities I think the countryside has got of pretty lightly.
    Now that we are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves. ROMANS 15:1
  • Stoo61Stoo61 Posts: 1,394
    Christ all mighty...its a banana skin, lob and forget. As long as its not obviously ridiculous.

    I watched a guy slip on one like in a cartoon...it enriched my life A LOT.
    THE Boardman
    Pink Orange 224
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  • .blitz.blitz Posts: 6,197
    In perspective, it is just a banana skin. There are too many jobsworths telling us what we can and can't do these days. Ever seen a landfill site ? Now that's litter.
  • ceecee Posts: 4,553
    as a general rule....i hate seeing litter strewn around the countryside.

    however.....I bury organic waste like fruit peel etc when out riding....
    Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I believe in the future of the human race.

    H.G. Wells.
  • Tank-slapperTank-slapper Posts: 968
    Scrape a small hole and bury it, or hide it under a rock/bush. 'Lobbing' it away is selfish, lazy and ignorant.
  • oliven_99oliven_99 Posts: 14
    Organic stuff that can break down is not an issue, its recycling i.e. putting nutrients back into the earth and potentially providing a meal for the wildlife.

    non-biodegradable stuff like wrappers on the floor really winds me up cos it takes less to take it home than it does to take it out!!! The amount of times I've taken someone elses carp home with me is crazy...

    use your noggin if's gonna be a benefit to the environment for you to dispose of it in the woods then do it. If it impacts the environment take it home don't be lazy!
    Cheers
    Oliven_99
  • robmanic1robmanic1 Posts: 2,150
    UncleMonty wrote:
    lol, I've had the very same argument with my wife, rots down and is food for worms I said.

    Does your wife object strongly to you putting your banana in her bush? :shock:
    Pictures are better than words because some words are big and hard to understand.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/34335188@N07/3336802663/
  • ceecee Posts: 4,553
    Robmanic1 wrote:
    UncleMonty wrote:
    lol, I've had the very same argument with my wife, rots down and is food for worms I said.

    Does your wife object strongly to you putting your banana in her bush? :shock:

    presumably not if its done carefully :lol:
    Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I believe in the future of the human race.

    H.G. Wells.
  • dave_hilldave_hill Posts: 3,877
    Tank-slapper wrote:
    Scrape a small hole and bury it, or hide it under a rock/bush. 'Lobbing' it away is selfish, lazy and ignorant.

    Cobblers. It's great fun seeing how far you can get it, especially in a wind, or seeing if you can't festoon it from a nearby sheep or tree.
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  • robmanic1robmanic1 Posts: 2,150
    I strap a broom to the back of my bike so as to sweep away my tyre tracks so that the squirrels, rabbits and ramblers don't get all upset.
    Pictures are better than words because some words are big and hard to understand.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/34335188@N07/3336802663/
  • lastwordslastwords Posts: 304
    always chuck banana skins away never had anything said to me obvously chuck it out the way but at the end of the day it does the ground good, some gardeners put them on their mud :lol: .
  • MattmanicMattmanic Posts: 234
    The next time someone has a go at you for throwing away biodegradable things like food, paper, etc... Just stop and explain the concept of composting to them. Preferably in great depth using very simple terms.
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  • KiblamsKiblams Posts: 2,423
    If it is biodegradable I have always dropped it out of the way, one thing that gets my goat is something that seems to be getting worse of late; people who scoop up their dogs mess and put it in a bag... and then feel the need to hang/throw it into a tree/bush! That's just rediculous!

    Left on the floor it causes hassle when it gets on tires/shoes, but at least it will wash away in time. In a bag hanging from a branch means that it is liable to stay there unless someone has the stomach to fish it down.

    Almost makes me want to kill the next dog walker, feed them to their own dog, wait a while and hang digested bags of them on their own garden fence...
    HandsomeDog - OrangeCommuter
  • Banned!Banned! Posts: 34
    oliven_99 wrote:
    The amount of times I've taken someone elses carp home with me is crazy.

    hey, you catch your own fish buddy!
  • goldblendslurpergoldblendslurper Posts: 39
    I think its OK to leave fruit under hedges, but I wouldn't drop banana skins on the paths. Put it somewhere out of the way.
  • Steve KishSteve Kish Posts: 216
    My friend has an argument that if noboby dropped litter, 239 litter collectors with nails on the end of sticks would be out of a job and their children would starve to death - he doesn't want to be responsible for that!! :P
    AT MY AGE, I SHOULD KNOW BETTER !!!
  • SoggzSoggz Posts: 221
    Uncle Peter wrote:
    If you dropped it in the street you'd get fined because it attracts vermin - chavs and the like, if the owner of the land saw you and was bloody minded (an ars*) he may state the same and you could get done for littering.

    As Supersonic said, you should be careful when putting your banana in a bush.
    Hmm...if it was YOUR land...would you be 'bloody minded' and object? come on guys, take your censored home with you...
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