The Hidden Costs of Littering
That careless toss of an apple core or a banana peel out the car window has consequences. Your action can ripple through the ecosystem in ways of which you may not be aware. Throwing out biodegradable garbage is still considered littering and can lead to fines from $250 to $1000. Municipal littering by-laws and resultant fines vary across the province.
So, what can that “harmless” apple core toss start in motion:
Decomposition is much slower than most people think. An apple core doesn’t vanish in a few days or weeks. In dry or frozen roadside, trail or wind exposed conditions, it can take 1-2 months or even longer to fully break down. Those plastic stickers on banana peels can take centuries.
The biggest and most serious problem is that animals smell the food and learn to forage near roads or trails. Smaller animals like rabbits, mice, squirrels and chipmunks get hit by cars. Predators and scavengers like hawks, eagles, coyotes, foxes then come to eat the roadkill and can also get hit. Wildlife rehab centres report many such injuries/deaths directly linked to “edible litter”. That nice meal you thought you were providing for a small animal may actually be its last.
Animals start associating humans/roads/ trails with easy food. They become less afraid of people, become more aggressive, or hang around campsites/roads more. This often ends badly for the animal.
Edible roadside litter can contain seeds which can sprout in places where that variety doesn’t belong, becoming an invasive species. This is especially concerning in National and Provincial parks meant to preserve original habitat.
Rotting cores/peels are also visual pollution which can encourage littering. As you now know, the decomposition process can take weeks/months in the meantime looking like the trash that it is. This psychologically makes other people think “it’s okay to leave my trash too”. There is an interesting theory first postulated in 1982 called the “Broken Window” theory. The gist of it is that a broken window or other signs of vandalism (graffiti, etc.) in a neighborhood promotes further degradation of the neighborhood.
Even an intermittent diet of human food can make wild animals sick or metabolically unbalanced, leading to poor digestion and nutrition.
While we are discussing trails, it should be highlighted that putting your dog’s poop in a doggy bag and leaving it by the trail for pick up on the way out, is not being a responsible pet owner. I used to hike the West Bragg Creek/Fullerton trail system regularly.
I’d be the first car in the parking lot, so I knew there was no one ahead of me. I would see these doggie bags all over the place as people never picked them up on the way back. Using a biodegradable bag doesn’t make it all better. As much as I disliked the chore, I would pick up these bags on my way out and dispose of them in a proper garbage container back at the parking lot. I wanted myself and others to enjoy a hike on pristine trail even more than I disliked the chore.
Discarded fishing line along flowing water and lakes is especially dangerous to wildlife both in and out of the water. I just finished watching a video of some kind soul removing fishing line from the legs and feet of an owl. For ice fisherman, whatever you leave on the lake ice falls to the bottom of the lake when the ice melts.
Before you think I’m being overly harsh, here is a little vignette of Canada’s cleanliness. A number of years ago I took an elderly American couple who were up for a visit for a picnic lunch at Forgetmenot Pond. He remarked how clear the water was and said, “In the US there would be a bunch of beer and soda cans on the bottom.”
Another deadly form of litter is the practice of throwing cigarette butts out the window. These can and do ignite fires which can grow to be out of control.
Loads should be properly tarped or tied down so that garbage, or even valuable stuff, doesn’t fly off. You are a hazard on the road to other drivers if you don’t and can be fined and charged if caught or causing injury. How many times have you seen seat cushions from someone’s couch at the side of the road. Don’t they go looking for them after they get to the new place?
A huge thumbs up for those individuals and groups who clean roadside ditches every year.
There can be consequences, some serious, for littering. Not to mention the impact on your wallet.
Dave Schroeder
HCRCWA Board Member
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