Orange peel

[gazzawazza]

Following on from Mr Poo's question on chewy being biodegradable, is it considered wrong to discard orange peel, apple cores and the like in the countryside as surely animals will feed on them? Is this classede as litter?

[j2buttonsw]

Organic food waste is biodegradable and beneficial to the environment but streets littered with apple cores and banana skins are as unsightly as ones littered with conventional litter. I would throw an apple core into a bush for the sake of the environment but not onto the urban street for the sake of not finding a bin.

[j2buttonsw]

Oh, and gazza please don't say that you used to pick up apple cores from the street and eat them when yous was a nipper?

[Cetti]

Anything that's disgarded in the wrong place is litter - the number of birds and animals that choke to death in this way every year is horrifying. How difficult is it to put leftovers in a bin, or take it home? This is not a personal attack on you gazzawazza, just something I happen to feel very strongly about!!

[gazzawazza]

Don't worry Cetti, I, like you hate to see people dropping litter, it makes my blood boil, usually these people are no more than ten yards from a wastebin, why do people do that??? I think it shows total ignorance and a lack of consideration or poor upbringing. Having said that, I've always instilled in my daughters the importance of taking litter home/putting it in wastebins etc, when just two weeks ago my youngest (13) dropped a sweet wrapper as we walked down the street! I was absolutely gobsmacked and made her pick this tiny bit of paper up and find a bin!

I remember camping once when a girl in our party simply dropped a banana skin right where she stood, which was just near her tent. I'm sure she expected her mam to pick it up for her, even though her parents where 80 odd miles away!

I only posed the question because someone once told me it's considered good for the environment, however that was in the 70s, I wanted to know what people thought now as we're supposed to be more eco-friendly but when I see some 'pigs' dropping rubbish it makes me wonder.

Oh, and by the way j2, no, apple cores were out of bounds, they just didn't hold their taste as good as chewy!

[darth vader]

As an outdoor enthusiast (when i'm not fighting with the Imperial army) i always throw down apple cores/orange peel etc as it's going to either be good for the land, or good for the animals. I tend to throw it out of site though, so someone else doesn't view it as others tend to be offended by this sort of "litter". btw littering the street should be a standard criminal offence (if it isn't already) and my kids know that.

[louiseinglis]

Dropping foodstuffs (biodegradable or not) is aiding the ever increasing rat population in the UK. So unless you love rats I would try not to do it!