Throwing garbage out your car window

[InsomniacInkRoss]

I will throw my organic waste (banana peels, apple cores, etc.) onto the side of the freeway or non-populated stretches into the grassy areas

 

Is this wrong? Is this illegal? Something is just gonna eat it or it will decompose or something

[JoeHova]

pretty sure that's illegal. I think it's not just the litter itself, but the danger of moving cars being hit by flying debris that makes the fines so high. $500, I believe. Then again, that may be the fine for any littering. Either way, good luck trying to talk your way out of that fine if a cop sees you.

[InsomniacInkRoss]

I only attempt such things if I know I can get it in the grass, or ditch

[JoeHova]

Maybe, but litter is litter. Apple cores and banana peels may biodegrade, but they don't look attractive and are disgusting to find in your front yard (I used to live across the street from a high school). I don't think you're on safe footing here.

[JimH5]

I can't imagine there is any way that's lawful. There are right and wrong ways and places to compost.

[aracko]

Yeah its wrong. I dont want to see banaba peels on the side of the road. While it makes sense because as you say, it will decompose, its still going to take 3-4 weeks and thats in warm weather.

 

I guess I just find people who litter - from cigarette butts to mcdonalds bags extremely lazy and self centered people who dont care about the world that their kids have to grow up in. Our kids are going to have it rough enough the next 20 - 30 years. I am not Mr Green - I own 2 cars and a gas guzzling truck, but I rarely drive my truck and would buy more effeciency if I could afford it. I just think that the earth is not an ashtray. This is why I dont feel bad about the cigarette tax and wouldnt be upset if it went higher.

 

I foudn this online - how long it takes something to decompose. To me its pretty eye opening, knowing that throwing a beer can or soda can out the window instead of in the garabge, you could be leaving your mark there for the next 200 - 500 years or you can recycle and use it again in 6 weeks. I will definately start to be more aware of recycling pabst cans.

 

Styrofoam container > 1 million years

Plastic jug 1 million years

Aluminum can 200-500 years (But if recycled, it can be reused within 6 weeks!)

Disposable diaper 550 years

Tinned can 90 years

Leather shoe 45 years

Wool sock 1 year

Paper bag 1 month

Banana peel 3-4 weeks

 

Anyhow - sorry if it sounds like I am preaching. I am not - just trying to bring the facts to the front.

[Teatoe993]

I had a packaging class in college. My professor told us that the new containers that fast food restaurants use are even less biodegradable than the old styrofoam containers they replaced. But at least the environmentalists are happy now.

[sgtcluels]

The waxed cardboard boxes? If they are ground up won't they degrade faster?

[And That]

I always get plastic bags at grocery stores because they take up much less space in landfills. Paper theoretically degrades much better, but when surrounded by the sludge of the landfill, it often doesn't degrade at all and takes up many times the area of plastic. Anyway...

 

Littering is littering. Instead of throwing stuff out of the car window, why not take it home and use it as fertilizer?

[Brian the Automator]

I always get plastic bags at grocery stores because they take up much less space in landfills. Paper theoretically degrades much better, but when surrounded by the sludge of the landfill, it often doesn't degrade at all and takes up many times the area of plastic. Anyway...

 

Littering is littering. Instead of throwing stuff out of the car window, why not take it home and use it as fertilizer?

Most wal-marts and some grocery stores have a bin where you can throw all your used plastic bags. My city requires me to put recyclable paper in paper bags, so I probably get half paper/half plastic.

 

[And That]

Most wal-marts and some grocery stores have a bin where you can throw all your used plastic bags. My city requires me to put recyclable paper in paper bags, so I probably get half paper/half plastic.

Yah, I rarely throw away plastic bags. They can be used for all sorts of things. As for the recycling, does your city also have a hard plastic bin to set by the curb? We have an extra one just to make sure we don't have any unnecessary paper waste.

[bullox]

Styrofoam container > 1 million years

Cool. Based on the fact that the Earth has about 5 billion years worth of tread left on its tires, that styrofoam container can degrade 5,000 times over. Heh.

 

BTW, I do not advocate littering.

 

[Getpaddled]

I am BIG on recycling and bugs me that some people don't. Nothing ticks me off more then when I throw all my paper products into a bin and I see plastic and everything else that doesn't belong in it in there, when the garbage bin is 4 feet away?!?!? Really, is it that hard?

 

Do you guys take your bottle caps off before you recycle them?

 

My friend got a ticket for throwing SUNFLOWER shells out the window!!!!

[1992casey]

Well, Getpaddled, your friend with the sunflower shells answers Insomniac's original question. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

As far as the grocery store, I get the bag I'm most likely to reuse first.

[jason21nl]

sorry to the smokers out there, but throwing out cigarette butts out the window, or on the ground is disgusting and should be ticketed.

[twobrewers]

I'm with Ross actually.

 

I never do on a freeway or in a city - but on back country roads, I will throw any half eaten fruit or vegetable out the window and not think twice about it.

 

I don't think of it as "littering" at all - since I know some animal is going to be by in the next few hours to pick it up and eat it. But then, I grew up in a small town with farms. So it is just a different attitude.

 

I've never met a farmer who would be upset that I threw an apple core into his field.

[Patrick425]

I think InsomInkRoss made it clear that he would only throw such items out the window on a "non-populated" stretch into "grassy areas". Although it's most likely unlawful, I see nothing wrong with it at all. It's biodegradable! 3 to 4 weeks in some vacant area that no human will probably step foot on. Who cares? It's not like there's going to be piles of banana peels and apple cores on the side of the road. What about apples that drop from trees in late summer, early fall? Is that unacceptable?

Throwing non-decomposing trash out the window or throwing anything out the window in a residential or heavily inhabited area is just wrong. You should see all the trash in my car....I really need to clean it out this weekend.

 

[Team Canada]

I agree, I toss apple cores out from time to time when there's no danger of hitting another car and I'm out on the highway somewhere.

[TooLiveBrew]

I am BIG on recycling and bugs me that some people don't. Nothing ticks me off more then when I throw all my paper products into a bin and I see plastic and everything else that doesn't belong in it in there, when the garbage bin is 4 feet away?!?!? Really, is it that hard?

 

Hear hear! It's sad to me that recycling often comes down to people being lazy or not. It's embarassing.

 

 

IIRoss, I don't think what you're doing is wrong. Many times, "legal" or "illegal" can be a poor method of evaluation. If it's biodegradeable, and you're being smart about the situations in which you're doing it, there's nothing wrong with it imo.

 

 

sorry to the smokers out there, but throwing out cigarette butts out the window, or on the ground is disgusting and should be ticketed.

Disgusting, self-centered, and evil. I could not agree more, j21. Obviously there are situations in which you don't have anywhere to trash the butt, but I think that goes without saying from jason's/our gripe.

[bork]

I think it's wrong in any situation. And I totally agree about cigarette.

 

I know this isn't what Ross was talking about, but it ticks me off when people throw crap out of their car, into my ditch. I don't know how much crap I pick out of my ditch every week. Use a gargage can!

[PlayerHader]

I'm pretty much with twobrewers. I'm from a rural area and if I'm heading down the road and finish up an apple, orange or banana it gets tossed out the window into the ditch or field. I'll do this on highways, also, as long as there is no car behind me or yards along the way. It is just natural and common sense to me. Learned from my ma I guess. I'll be sure to take a good look out for cops from now on, though. And heck if it takes 3-4 for an apple core to decompose in a field.

 

Speaking of paper vs. plastic. So many of you seem concerned, but do any of you take the bags back in with you and reuse them? Or do you have some cloth bags that you use every time. I just started doing this (taking paper bags back to reuse). It seems to make the most sense, and County Market even gives you a couple cents back.

[Getpaddled]

Every time I go shopping and get plastic bags I store them in the closet until the woman yells at me to do something with them. I then take them to walmart as they have a bin for these bags to get recycled.

[PlayerHader]

Do they have something like that at all Wal-Marts? Sounds like a good thing, as I have several plastic bags in a cubboard at home.

[1992casey]

I'm more comfortable tossing an apple core than I am with an orange or banana peel.

 

As far as cigarettes, I know someone who will pull off the tip containing the end of the tobacco and crush it with her finger or shoe. That part will blow away and degrade. The icky filter is saved for the trash.

 

And I'm with bork about the ditch. I constantly find beer bottles and cans, Hardees bags, and all kinds of other neat stuff in front of my house down by the road. Since my ditch is wet over half the time, it's really hard to clean this stuff out.

[dadofandrew]

I'm not a "green" person at all, and I would never throw anything out of my car.