Throwing stuff out the window

[goldberry]

 

We pour unwanted drinks on grass (not someone's yard!) rather than on pavement where someone can step on it and get their feet sticky.  Even in parking lots, there are usually islands out of the way.

 

That is what I usually do.  On rare occasion I have poured it on concrete if it is very out of the way.  I just never saw either incident as "littering". 

[Selkie]

I live way out in the country and would have zero problem with someone chucking an apple core into the weeds. As long as it's not right on or beside the road, no animals are going to get hurt. There are so many wild apple and plum trees growing along the roads here that one more piece of fruit is like a drop in the ocean, anyway.

[catz]

It's funny to me that so many people grew up thinking that was a huge no no. I mean, THIS wasn't that far back in our history...

 

 

LOL - I remember being struck by this scene watching Mad Men.  My parents were ahead of their time in terms of litter.  I was born in 70 and remember seeing so much trash along roads,  etc growing up.  Gross.  We even bury compostables when we're camping. 

[Guest]

I haven't thought about it in ages, but yes, I do remember throwing apple cores out of thre car window during road trips in rural areas. This would have been the 1970s.

 

I would never occur to my nine year old to do such a thing. We're rural, but we aren't that rural. He'd probably cry if you told him to do it.

 

I honestly don't remember whether my olders did or not. We used to take road trips in rural areas when they were little, frequently with the grandfolks.

 

Just fyi, there is a word for "throwing stuff out the window" if you're into words:

 

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/defenestration

 

https://digitizor.com/richard-stallmans-opinion-on-dual-booting-defenestrate-it/

Edited June 19, 2017 by Guest

[poppy]

I haven't thought about it in ages, but yes, I do remember throwing apple cores out of thre car window during road trips in rural areas. This would have been the 1970s.

 

I would never occur to my nine year old to do such a thing. We're rural, but we aren't that rural. He'd probably cry if you told him to do it.

 

I honestly don't remember whether my olders did or not. We used to take road trips in rural areas when they were little, frequently with the grandfolks.

 

Just fyi, there is a word for "throwing stuff out the window" if you're into words:

 

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/defenestration

 

https://digitizor.com/richard-stallmans-opinion-on-dual-booting-defenestrate-it/

 

Did you ever watch the TV show Hannibal?  It is gruesome,  but artful, and very smart.  My most memorable experience with this word is from that show: a woman must walk with a cane due to injuries from being thrown out a window, but, on the bright side:  "I've always enjoyed the word 'defenestration.' Now I get to use it in casual conversation." 

 

Not exactly a memory I expected to come up when I started this thread, but, that's OK!

Edited June 19, 2017 by poppy

[rjand6more]

We used to throw biodegradable waste outside as a kid.  My parents were very forward thinking about recycling and composting.  We are talking 35 years ago. My parents drove 50 miles one way once a month to deposit recyclables.  My dad rode his bike in our rural area picking up cans and bottles and recycling them.  Yes, he did get money for it, but it was not his main focus.  He wanted to clean up the roads.  He had a very good paying job and spent evenings and days off doing that.  I got teased and tormented at school for it.  It was assumed I was so poor my daddy had to cash in cans to pay the bills. :(

 

I don't toss things out anymore.  My dd volunteers at a museum with a very large ornithology dept.  They have a dead bird drop off.  Lots are hit by cars.  

 

I do pour out tea(unsweetened) or water outside.  That is not littering.

[The Governess]

We don't throw anything out the windows. But I have seen others do so a shocking number of times... including cigarette butts in brush fire zones. Last month a guy driving in front of me spit out his window and it landed on my windshield. Disgusting. Some people just don't care!

[AHASRADA]

We did (and do) throw biodegradable items out the window in grassy areas (apple cores and banana peels). Absolutely no littering, though.

 

Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk

[Mimm]

Apple cores or food in small amounts, I don't see a problem with. And I NEVER litter any kind of other trash. So maybe some people see this as a weird double standard or something. I'd never throw a large amount of food out the window. But small things, yeah I don't see a problem with that.

[Scarlett]

Confession--

 

Once when I was traveling with XH and two 7 year olds. (my son and a family friend) the little girl got car sick.  We were going down a terrible winding road and she said she didn't feel good.  When I saw her face I KNEW the car was about to be covered in vomit.  Quick as a flash I dumped out the contents of a plastic WalMart bag and contorted my body around just in time.  The bag, which miraculous had no holes in it like they usually do, was half full.  XH pulled over---we were in the middle of Ozark National Forest---and I jumped out holding that bag full of vomit.  I was standing there like 'ooooooohhhhhh what are we going to do with this?!!!!!' when XH says, 'give me that!', grabs it from me and hurls it into the forest.  

 

I have very very little guilt about that.

 

Just saying.

[Lady Florida.]

I guess to me it doesn't matter whether an apple core gets eaten by critters / composts in a rural ditch / forest or in my backyard.

 

I don't think it's morally superior to put it in the garbage can ....

 

I'll go a step further - It's better not to put it in the garbage. 

 

We have a fairly large back yard for a suburban neighborhood and have a compost bin. We're talking about moving, possibly even to an apartment or condo. I'm trying to think of how I can compost, if I can compost, when we move. It bothers me to think about going back to putting organic matter in a plastic garbage bag (plastic garbage bags are required by our city as well as the ones we're considering moving to).

[creekland]

I'll go a step further - It's better not to put it in the garbage. 

 

We have a fairly large back yard for a suburban neighborhood and have a compost bin. We're talking about moving, possibly even to an apartment or condo. I'm trying to think of how I can compost, if I can compost, when we move. It bothers me to think about going back to putting organic matter in a plastic garbage bag (plastic garbage bags are required by our city as well as the ones we're considering moving to).

 

You can get a cooler and put red worms in it.  BTDT  as a project when homeschooling.  It worked just fine and was fun to see just how much the worms could eat.  Now we just use the Great Outdoors (our own property).  When hubby and I move into a condo part time, I plan to do something like this again if I can't find an appropriate place to do something else.

 

I abhor throwing food waste into the garbage.  Such a waste.

[stephanier.1765]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/sep/24/bananas-litter-hikers-mountains-scotland

 

Fwiw, it takes 2 years for those banana peels and orange skins to decompose when you toss them out your window.

 

Something to think about.

 

We have orange trees in our yard and any oranges that don't get picked before they spoil are left on the ground and by spring are totally gone. That's complete oranges not just the skins so I have a hard time believing that it takes that long to decompose a skin. I'm not saying it's right to litter just disagreeing with the 2 year docomposition. 

[creekland]

We have orange trees in our yard and any oranges that don't get picked before they spoil are left on the ground and by spring are totally gone. That's complete oranges not just the skins so I have a hard time believing that it takes that long to decompose a skin. I'm not saying it's right to litter just disagreeing with the 2 year docomposition. 

 

We toss orange peels out on our hedgerow here in PA.  It doesn't take two years.  Banana peels go into our compost pile.  They're gone relatively quickly too.

 

I suspect location and weather might have something to do with differences - or maybe we have critters that steal ours, I don't know.  I don't care.  They still aren't filling garbage dumps and living forever there.

[SKL]

I'll go a step further - It's better not to put it in the garbage. 

 

We have a fairly large back yard for a suburban neighborhood and have a compost bin. We're talking about moving, possibly even to an apartment or condo. I'm trying to think of how I can compost, if I can compost, when we move. It bothers me to think about going back to putting organic matter in a plastic garbage bag (plastic garbage bags are required by our city as well as the ones we're considering moving to).

 

Yeah, I don't put food in the garbage, unless it's bones or something that would break the in-sink disposer.

[Guest]

I definitely throw apple cores into weeds.

 

Compost should keep at it in winter, just barely slowing down. We eat a bunch of bananas every week and there are hardly any recognizable peels in my compost. I just turned it. I can't see one sitting out taking so much longer that it's two years til it's gone. Maybe on like a concrete slab? But not the ground with bugs and microbes and weather!

 

Shoot! For that matter, I knew a woman who did in-ground composting. She'd bury her compostables just like two inches, directly in her garden beds. She added to it all winter and did summer and Autumn crops in the winter compost rows. I'm sure she ate ooples and banoonoos*.

 

 

*Barney 😎

[Tanaqui]

I don't even throw my apple core into the garbage when I'm out and about in the city. I either put it in the nearest food scrap drop-off, or I bring it home, chop it up (so it decomposes faster), and toss it in my compost. Or I eat it, which was my go-to method of disposing of apple cores as a child. Lots of fiber, and I love the seeds!

[MEmama]

I'll go a step further - It's better not to put it in the garbage.

 

We have a fairly large back yard for a suburban neighborhood and have a compost bin. We're talking about moving, possibly even to an apartment or condo. I'm trying to think of how I can compost, if I can compost, when we move. It bothers me to think about going back to putting organic matter in a plastic garbage bag (plastic garbage bags are required by our city as well as the ones we're considering moving to).

A lot of areas now have composting services for a small fee. I gave up on our compost bin because stuff just wasn't breaking down (yes I know the proper way to do it) and squirrels drag stuff all over the backyard. Now we pay $14/mo for a service that picks up our waste weekly, and every week they give us a clean bucket and 3.5 pounds of compost. It's really, really popular around here. I think there are 2-3 similar businesses that service our little town (and greater area).

 

When we lived in NB we had weekly curb side compost pickup. I'd like to think someday that will become the norm. I loved it and of course composting became second nature to everyone in the community.

[poppy]

Want to add, we do worm composting at home. It's awesome. Shredded cardboard boxes + a little peat moss + food scraps + red wiggles in a Rubbermaid tote with 80 small holes drilled into it produces lots and lots and lots of fantastic garden dirt. My 2 lbs of worms can't eat all the produce waste we produce, but , it makes a dent.

[Tanaqui]

In NYC, we have drop-off for food scraps and (in some places) yard waste. There might be something similar wherever it is you're moving too.

 

Or you can try an indoor worm bin.

[Lady Florida.]

I've never heard of a food scraps drop off. Then again, I live in a city with limited recycling and a requirement that all trash be in a closed plastic bag before going into the trash can for collection. 

[Laurie4b]

We did throw organic material out the window of the car in undeveloped natural areas (ie not on people's lawns). I still do it in rural areas. 

 

The one thing to be careful of is that if you don't get it far enough away from the road, it will draw animals to the roadside to eat and they---or the owl or hawk that swoops down on them---can become roadkill. 

[Miss Peregrine]

Want to add, we do worm composting at home. It's awesome. Shredded cardboard boxes + a little peat moss + food scraps + red wiggles in a Rubbermaid tote with 80 small holes drilled into it produces lots and lots and lots of fantastic garden dirt. My 2 lbs of worms can't eat all the produce waste we produce, but , it makes a dent.

What size tote?

[frogger]

What annoys me is people who leave dirty diapers anywhere other than their appropriate receptacle. I've had people argue with me that there is good reason to do this. "My car would have really stunk otherwise." OK .... Unfortunately it's not just one person doing that once in a while.

 

And on the subject of long-lasting nasty garbage, I have to say I'm conflicted about the current dog poop rules. Is it really better to have all these little plastic poop bags in the landfills? I don't have a dog, so I'm not looking for excuses, it doesn't seem very earth-friendly to me.

 

That is something to think about. I also see baggies on the trail. So someone will pick up the poop then leave it in a plastic bag in the trail.

 

Of course, leaving poop on a trail or in a park will get awful when hundreds of dogs use them so they must be picked up. It would be great to come up with a bag that could be composted.

[MEmama]

That is something to think about. I also see baggies on the trail. So someone will pick up the poop then leave it in a plastic bag in the trail.

 

Of course, leaving poop on a trail or in a park will get awful when hundreds of dogs use them so they must be picked up. It would be great to come up with a bag that could be composted.

Some can be. I have some made out of corn waste.

 

They came with a compost bucket, but could be used for dog waste (we don't have a dog).

[frogger]

It probably depends on your definition of rural. Even if the area is "rural" and people have ten acre lots or it's a state park then stuff could build up because the majority of people who are there are coming through on the highway. You may be surprised how many cars pass a seemingly empty area and if you were to walk the road how nasty it is.

 

I do think it is a bad idea to throw stuff out the window as a habit. People have been hit by stuff and children especially aren't going to have a great idea of when you think it is appropriate. Motorcyclists have been hit by things and honestly I prefer my vehicle not be damaged. Even plain old water can suck if you are a pedestrian, cyclist, or scooter rider behind the car.Right now my town has a major bear problem so even tossing apple cores in the woods by rest stops would attract animals and invite attacks.

 

So unless you are in the back country, as in not on a trail it is best to keep your stuff with you. Obviously, composting stuff is useful.

 

 

Oh, unless you have a hot compost pile it will take similar times to decompose at the dump as at home. Our dump is filled with Bald eagles, ravens, and sea gulls eating peoples leftovers. Not sure that is the healthiest fair but it's what happens.

[MEmama]

Yeah, I'm thinking that just because that place where you toss your apple cores isn't front lawn, doesn't mean it isn't someone's land. I guess I can't think of anywhere along roadsides here (and our area is plenty rural) that isn't either private property or protected public land.

[MotherGoose]

No doubt it depends on climate, of course. I do know that it takes years for them to break down in my compost bin that is frozen half the year but otherwise well maintained.

 

Regardless, I'm shocked people consider it okay to litter at all. I guess it's like picking wild flowers on the side of the road--what if EVERYONE did it? I don't want to go back to the 70s when trash was everywhere. What's so hard about hanging onto your apple core until you get home?

In the southeast USA where the compost heap almost never freezes and it's very hot I would say a couple of months if that. I think there are also more creepy crawlies around here since it's hot to accelerate decomposition. I have been known to tuck banana peels etc under the mulch in public places rather than to throw them in the trash.

[BigMamaBird]

I once got some serious stink eye from a woman when I threw an apple core into the woods.  You'd have thought I'd kicked a chipmunk.

 

[lllll]

nm

Edited July 11, 2017 by tentwelve

[Tanaqui]

There are plastic poop bags that can be composted. However, you can rest assured that if they end up in the landfill, they won't be. They also should not be composted in your home compost - it is doubtful you get it hot enough to kill any pathogens.

 

Some big commercial composters will take pet waste, or you can use a doggie septic system.

[momacacia]

I thought this might be a house/basement decluttering thread. One track mind. 😂

[poppy]

I once got some serious stink eye from a woman when I threw an apple core into the woods.  You'd have thought I'd kicked a chipmunk.

 

To be fair, maybe the apple did bonk a chipmunk in the head.

[poppy]

What size tote?

 

I believe 30 gallon.

I got detailed instructions from this book - it's just 2 pages of the book, so I suggest you just get it from the library (which is what I did). https://www.amazon.com/Easy-Garden-Projects-Build-Yourself/dp/0899094007

[sassenach]

It's funny to me that so many people grew up thinking that was a huge no no. I mean, THIS wasn't that far back in our history...

 

I wonder about that scene, though. All of the stuff she shook off of the blanket, would they really have had that much disposable packaging? My impression was that cloth napkins and glass/reusable packaging were more of the norm at that time.

[sassenach]

We're apple core tossers.  I've always thought of compostables as belonging in nature more than the landfills. 

[marbel]

I once got some serious stink eye from a woman when I threw an apple core into the woods.  You'd have thought I'd kicked a chipmunk.

 

Y'know, this is bringing back a memory.  Years ago (25ish) I frequently went on day hikes with my local Sierra Club.  One time, a guy on one of the hikes was shunned by the group for tossing an apple core into the woods.  The memory is hazy.  But I remember thinking, what is wrong with these people?   

[heartlikealion]

Lol I would be nervous it would bounce and hit someone's car or something. Right now we have a trash back in the car. Dd ate a banana in the car today and I threw the peel in the trash bag. It would not occur to me to toss the banana peel out the window though I don't see how it would harm anything. Just probably wouldn't do that. And depending on where it is, it can make the roads look pretty trashy (pun intended). Dh and a group just did a clean up on the sides of the roads (rural roads that are mostly trees) right before the tornado came through. He was quite saddened to see all the new debris.

[foxbridgeacademy]

Yep we did and I would if I had no place to stash it in the car but we almost always have a little bag for trash. Then, as long as there was no dairy/meat, in the bag we take it out to the compost bin and tear it up a bit.  Paper (including sandwich wrappers, cardboard, etc...) is quickly decomposed in an active heap. 

[Okra]

Yep. Apple cores out the window. Definitely when in the rural areas.

[KungFuPanda]

I grew up tossing apple cores out rural windows, but recently DS and I did a tour at a raptor rescue/ nature center and they said this was a terrible practice because so many birds get hit by cars going after this "natural trash" near the road.  I guess I can't do THAT anymore.

 

[MomsintheGarden]

We live on a rural road and pick up trash on a two mile stretch of it. We recycle what we can and take the rest to the dump. The number and variety of items people throw out oftheir cars is disgusting and amazing. The saddest part is that it looks like they are training their children to toss their trash, too.

 

The polyester filters in cigarette butts take a long, long time to decompose, if ever. We've picked up thousands and thousands of cigarette butts. Ugh.

Edited June 20, 2017 by MomsintheGarden

[MEmama]

Y'know, this is bringing back a memory. Years ago (25ish) I frequently went on day hikes with my local Sierra Club. One time, a guy on one of the hikes was shunned by the group for tossing an apple core into the woods. The memory is hazy. But I remember thinking, what is wrong with these people?

 

https://lnt.org/blog/talking-talk

 

Leave No Trace. It's a major principle of enjoying the outdoors responsibly.

[Wabi Sabi]

I've always thrown organic material out the window, chucking it as far as possible, while on the highway. I've only recently quit doing it when I learned about how it increases the number of animals hit by cars. 

 

Likewise, I have no qualms at all about cleaning out a hairbrush and throwing out a big wad of hair while I'm in the passenger seat on the highway. If anyone can explain why that is a problem I'd stop, but until presented with evidence to the contrary I'll keep on doing it. 

Oh, and we eat in the car too, almost daily, it seems. Over the weekend I had to drive 4.5 hours to a neighboring state, spent the night, then home the next day. We ate sandwiches in the car while driving. Yesterday dd and I were running errands and grabbed a sandwich while we were out. We intentionally got our sandwiches to go just so we could go outside and eat in the car- it was a gorgeous day, nice breeze, not too hot, and we wanted to sit with the windows down so that we could listen to our audiobook over lunch: we were at a particularly engrossing point in the story! In nice weather when we are away from home we very regularly choose to eat lunch in the car just so we can continue our audiobooks, lol! 

[marbel]

https://lnt.org/blog/talking-talk

 

Leave No Trace. It's a major principle of enjoying the outdoors responsibly.

 

Yes.  I'm familiar with this now.  

 

Would have been nice if rather than shunning/shaming the guy, people had explained that in a friendly way.   Like I said, memories are vague, but I do remember that the guy was made to feel like a jerk.  

[KarenC]

We have a lot of horses and cattle nearby.  Apple cores go out the window.

[Lady Florida.]

Oh, unless you have a hot compost pile it will take similar times to decompose at the dump as at home. Our dump is filled with Bald eagles, ravens, and sea gulls eating peoples leftovers. Not sure that is the healthiest fair but it's what happens.

 

Our dump (landfill as they prefer to call it) is filled with the plastic bags required in the cities served by said landfill.

 

In the southeast USA where the compost heap almost never freezes and it's very hot I would say a couple of months if that. I think there are also more creepy crawlies around here since it's hot to accelerate decomposition. I have been known to tuck banana peels etc under the mulch in public places rather than to throw them in the trash.

 

Yes. It doesn't take long for things to decompose here. We have a two sided compost bin so we can always have an active one and one with finished compost we can use in the garden/yard.

 

I wonder about that scene, though. All of the stuff she shook off of the blanket, would they really have had that much disposable packaging? My impression was that cloth napkins and glass/reusable packaging were more of the norm at that time.

 

I grew up in the sixties and my parents would never have done such a thing. They also would have made us kids go pick up anything we threw on the ground. That might make for good tv, but it wasn't my experience. As for disposable packaging and napkins, not so much to the first, yes to the second. We always used paper napkins both at home and on picnic type outings.

Edited June 20, 2017 by Lady Florida.

[kitten18]

I thought this might be a house/basement decluttering thread. One track mind. 😂

Me too, I was wondering if it would be efficient to throw stuff out the second story window. 🤔😂

[SKL]

Yeah, I was taught not to litter as a kid.  I don't know exactly how that worked, I know my parents didn't model littering, and they had all these "don't be a litterbug" campaigns and stuff.  There were also a lot of things you'd save for some later purpose.  Even Bazooka wrappers.  :P  Especially Bazooka wrappers.

 

I might have broken the rules when under the influence of bad boys, :P but at least I knew I was breaking the rules.

[marbel]

<snip>

 

I grew up in the sixties and my parents would never have done such a thing. They also would have made us kids go pick up anything we threw on the ground. That might make for good tv, but it wasn't my experience. As for disposable packaging and napkins, not so much to the first, yes to the second. We always used paper napkins both at home and on picnic type outings.

 

Same.  We camped every summer and took all our stuff out.  We didn't have a lot of packaged food, except what my mom would package herself.  I remember her sewing muslin coffee bags for ease in making morning coffee.  I'm quite sure we used paper napkins because I remember that I used to think cloth napkins were so fancy.   But, we would not have left trash like that.  No doubt there were/are people who did/do, but I don't remember it being the norm.