Tuesday, July 13, 2010

It is okay, it is biodegrable, so it isn't littering, right?

It has come to my attention that not everyone (including someone close to me) understands what an effect they have on the environment when they throw food on the ground and walk away. The claim I heard is "It is biodegradable, so it isn't littering." That makes no sense to me. I find that attitude to be like "Someone else will clean up my mess." This is the same attitude that got us into the environmental mess in the first place.

Let's assume for a minute that biodegradable in this argument means in the soil where the necessary bacteria and other microorganisms.

Below is a list of some common items that fall under this argument

Most directions for making a home compost pile advise against adding hard-to-break-down food waste, such as cherry seeds. Cherry and other fruit pits can take up to 10 years to completely decompose. Reference

Banana Peel 2-5 weeks Reference Reference 2 Reference 3

Apple Core 2 months Reference

A cigarette takes 3-10 months to mostly decompose and some say it can take up to as much as twelve years; however, the filter which is made of acetate will NEVER fully break down. Reference Cigarette butts: 1-12 years Reference

Paper: 2-5 weeks Reference
Orange peels: 6 months Reference
Cotton rags 1-5 months Reference
Plastic or cardboard milk carton: 5 years Reference

Okay, so you may be thinking to yourself, that isn't bad. Well consider this. If you properly bury the materials these times are about right. However, if you put them in a landfill they process is greatly slowed down. To the tune of decades and tens of decades before they biodegrade. Researchers have found 25-year old apple cores and newspapers in near perfect condition, found in landfills with garbage from thousands of other households. Reference

Here is the reality of what happens.

What happens when you throw something in the street of your favorite city you may be wondering. Here are some options.

1. It gets washed down a storm drain by a rain. I live in Arizona, so not likely. This can clog, pollute, and create other crazy problems depending on the stuff that makes it into the storm drain.

2. A street sweep comes by and picks it up. This eventually ends up in the landfill where we don't want it either, but not any worse than putting it in your household trash.

3. It may be blown away by the wind if it is small or light enough. Sign me up to inhale trash or watch trash go tumbling down the street. That always makes me feel good about where I live.

Let's assume that you think it is ok to pay taxes to have street sweepers sweep up your mess. Maybe there should be an item on everyone's tax return that the abusers can check to INCREASE their tax because someone has to pay for using the landfill, the street sweepers, the guys that drive the sweepers, the guys that compact the trash, etc. How many people do you think would check that box on their tax return. NONE. Nothing is free in this world. There is a cost for everything. Take care of your own trash.

Let's assume there was no cost to clean it up. Let's assume it biodegrades in a couple of weeks. Well, we need a place for it to biodegrade. I suggest the front yards of all the people that want to throw it on the ground in the first place. I would love to hear their argument when their entire front yard is covered with all the stuff that is just biodegrading. My comment to them would be, "Don't worry it will biodegrade in two weeks if you are lucky. Be sure to turn it so it does that properly. Otherwise it may take a lot longer. Don't mind the smell or the flies or other insects that it attracts. This is natures way after all. Oh and be sure everything is 100 natural. Even then extreme concentrations of anything can become toxic. I hope you aren't doing any home growing in your yard. I don't think I want to eat a carrot from 5 million melted hard candies and gum (yes it is just a made up number, but we have a big city). Better yet, how about they drive around with this stuff in their cars. I bet they'll make some friends.

I write this after being quite pissed off at how people treat our planet. The tone of this is harsh, but I think people need to think and understand the implications of their actions. I'll admit I don't compost, but I do reuse then recycle, and I try not to waste much of anything. Someday I would like to try composting, but in the meantime I'll settle for just picking up my own mess and not making it somebody else's problem. If we all did that our streets would look a lot better. Who knows maybe the IRS will give us a credit if we can prove we pick up our own trash instead of throwing it on the ground. (yeah right ;)