Poll: discarding organic matter on a ride

Sjaak

Without taking all the blame for those banana skins lornfully decorating countryside hedges and bushes ...

... what does the panel think about depositing skins and apple cores on road side verges in the countryside?

NB clarification: not discarded on roads but a good-throw away; proper countryside, not parks and near villages.

funckchicken

all biodegradeable, so i pretty much tend to chuck it, although obviously if i've stopped for a quick scoff and there's a bin nearby i'll use that.

Kléber

In many ways, it's fine as it will rot away. But, before it rots it looks bad and cyclists shouldn't litter too much. Also, if on an organised ride lots of riders get bananas from a food stop and sling the peels as they go along, a lot of waste will accumulate in the roadside, it can attract rats and other pests. So, ideally, bin it if you can.

andy_wrx

I'd throw an applecore or bananaskin or whatever deep into a bed of nettles or something, but just chucking it onto the verge, or onto a hedge where it gets caught and it can be seen isn't on.

Crapaud

andy_wrx wrote:

I'd throw an applecore or bananaskin or whatever deep into a bed of nettles or something, but just chucking it onto the verge, or onto a hedge where it gets caught and it can be seen isn't on.

+1

...and bins when available.

Kléber wrote:

In many ways, it's fine as it will rot away. But, before it rots it looks bad and cyclists shouldn't litter too much. Also, if on an organised ride lots of riders get bananas from a food stop and sling the peels as they go along, a lot of waste will accumulate in the roadside, it can attract rats and other pests. So, ideally, bin it if you can.

Good point. I hadn't thought of that.

Dr U Idh

I can't believe that so many people are blind to the reality of the situation. Of course, if everyone thinks "hey it's just one banana skin" and then rides on, they're never aware of what they've left behind.

If you can carry it in, you can carry it out.

No excuse.

Ever.

redvee

My applecores get launched from the van into greenery when safe to do so in town and other garbage stays in the van till we get back or to a bin.

Bio-degradable into vegetation for compost all the time where poss.

Porgy

Oops - voted for the wrong one.

I'm not sure about banana skins tbh and tend to stick them in the bin where I can.

But apple cores - straight into nearby foliage.

I only eat bananas and apples - so there is no more organic stuff to throw.

Crapaud

Dr U Idh wrote:

I can't believe that so many people are blind to the reality of the situation. ...

The reality of what situation?

For clarity, I'm not talking about lobbing banana skins into the foliage of peoples gardens, but out in the countryside. I can't see a problem with the occassional skin in long grass or bushes.

Dr U Idh

So - it's OK for you to do it. How about if 12 folk do it? 20? 100? It's litter take it home.

BigJimmyB

I think in the scheme of things, a few nana peels and apple cores (how long til they decompose? Not long I'll bet) would be nothing compared to the piles and piles of plastic littering our country.

Everywhere I go, no matterhow remote I think it might be, there's an Evian bottle and a fag butt.

THAT is litter.

APIII

It's not litter it's biodegradable waste. As long as it's carefully discarded I can't see the problem. Is ending up in landfill so much better?

Tom Butcher

Don't see a problem with it done as people describe above - even if it was 200 banana skins if it was deep into a bed of nettles or something would it matter ?

Crapaud

Dr U Idh wrote:

So - it's OK for you to do it. How about if 12 folk do it? 20? 100? It's litter take it home.

In a black and white world yes, it's littering. But there's a world of difference between the occassional banana skin that'll decompose in, what, a week or two and, say, empty gel sachets, crisp packets, soft drink bottles etc. that'll take months, if not years.

To the best of my knowledge banana skins are not a hazard to wildlife: they can't choke on them (unless they try to swallow them whole), they can't get stuck in their digestive tract. Small animals can't crawl into them and get trapped.

I'd consider putting a skin into a small plastic bag to take home, that'll ultimately go into landfill, to be more like environmental vandalism - the unneccessary plastic bag'll take longer to decompose than the skin - than letting nature do the recycling.

Dr U Idh

It takes about 4 weeks for a banana skin to decompose - assuming a reasonable ambient temperature. That probably makes it 4 months in Scotland

I guess I'm just paranoid about these things as I've seen so many hilltop cairns stuffed with orange peel.

Crapaud

Dr U Idh wrote:

It takes about 4 weeks for a banana skin to decompose - assuming a reasonable ambient temperature. That probably makes it 4 months in Scotland
...

Cheeky git!

Dr U Idh

Crapaud wrote:

Dr U Idh wrote:

It takes about 4 weeks for a banana skin to decompose - assuming a reasonable ambient temperature. That probably makes it 4 months in Scotland
...

Cheeky git!

No probs. Born and bred Scot myself - and I wouldn't live anywhere else...

LittleB0b

take it home!

I guess i come from a hill background where the rule is you take it in you carry it out. A few reasons;

1. Stuff often takes longer to biodegade than you think (how many summit cairns are stuffed with orange and banana peel that's set to be there for the next 10 years) - while 4 to 5 weeks is quoted for bannan skin - i'm lucky if they do this in my compost bin.

2. adding biodegradable material can often adversly effect the biodiverity of areas that rely on low nutrient values. Adding biodegrable material is in effect adding compost. Many wildflowers and the rare insects that use them rely on poor soil - improve it and grasses move in. While this is particuly importnat in fragile areas like the cairngorm plateau and other more baren areas (eg moorland) - its importnat in other places too. While there is probably some places that its OK - It's easier to take it home than get of the bike and do a soil and nature survey in each location you want to chuck something in.

3. If you do it - that makes it OK for EVERYONE to do it - which wouldn't be nice

robmanic1

I always dump my McDonalds wrappers, used car tyres, mattresses and burnt out cars in the nearest rural layby, saves the environment by reducing emissions from the bin wagon that calls round every week, plus I'm far too fat and lazy to take my crap to the nearest dump, and who uses to the countryside anyway, there's nowt there?


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