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leave no trace
yep leave take them home with you.
Shouldn't be dropping anything.
Take them home, quite simple really. Not sure there's to much to discuss here is there?
I did chuck a couple of scabby sandwich crusts the other day, is that acceptable?
I just drop them on the corners of narrow tracks so that bikers will slip on them.
I have to hold my hand up and say I do this. In my view its a natural (I admit not native) plant that will rot away and enrich the soil.
Happy to be schooled on this though.
I agree, shouldn't be discarding it. It's only a bit better than dropping plastic litter. I was always taught that even if it's biodegradable, if it doesn't grow where you are then put it in the appropriate bin.
Same goes for orange peel
Me too! I try not to leave them on open view, but i actually feel im doing a service to the environment.
Can anyone advise?
I was always told that orange peel and banana skins take much longer to break down and shouldn't be dropped. However, they don't seem to take any longer to rot in the garden.
In my view its a natural (I admit not native) plant
Just because it's natural doesn't mean it good.
that will rot away and enrich the soil.
Even if it didn't take years to rot away enriching the soil is often bad for native plant species. There's advice on not scattering peoples ashes on the mountain for the same reason.
However, they don’t seem to take any longer to rot in the garden
I'll wager that your garden is at a significantly lower altitude and has a lot more animals that will happily eat the discarded fruit.
Just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it good.
ok, can you explain why its bad?
If you can carry it in then you can carry it out. No exceptions (though we can cover toileting in another thread).
Even if it didn’t take years to rot away enriching the soil is often bad for native plant species. There’s advice on not scattering peoples ashes on the mountain for the same reason.
I try not to leave them on open view, but i actually feel im doing a service to the environment.
The view is that they do rot it takes a very long time, and even longer when left at altitude in the cold.
If you can carry it in then you can carry it out. No exceptions.
I need better reason than that. I take all my plastic wrappers and gel wrappers home. But I do discard banana peels into hedgerows as I cycling along. Like I said happy to change my habits if someone can explain what the issue is.
The view is that they do rot it takes a very long time, and even longer when left at altitude in the cold.
So what? If it takes 2 years to rot away, whats the problem with that?
But I do discard banana peels into hedgerows as I cycling along. Like I said happy to change my habits if someone can explain what the issue is.
They take a couple of years to degrade and in the meantime are littering the countryside. It's lazy and inconsiderate.
Can live with the odd banana skin, You know what I don’t like seeing? The little scrunched up bits of bright white tissue tucked behind rocks etc that suggests someone has had a wee (or worse). And in the ‘worse’ case I suspect that it’s significantly more ‘soil enriching’ than a banana peel...
whats the problem with that?
I'll dump a bin of rubbish on your front lawn and collect it in a couple of years then?
Apart from the people who have to look at your discarded banana skin for the next couple of years, as above, the environment may be harmed rather than enriched by the byproducts.
It's not hard to take it home. It's only half the weight of the thing you carried up to that point. Is it because it feels a bit slimy in your jersey pocket?
They take a couple of years to degrade and in the meantime are littering the countryside. It’s lazy and inconsiderate.
I get it in the context of the OP. A well used walking trail up a mountain covered in banana skins is not cool. But on a road ride where I would throw it into a hedgerow, I still don't see the problem. If it takes that banana peel 2 years to rot away, who cares? no-one has sees it, its not killing any wildlife. Would the same apply to an apple core? what about all the fruit that drops from trees onto the floor? should we be going around clearing all those up?
If it takes 2 years to rot away, whats the problem with that?
As others have said it is both an eyesore and potentially bad for the local ecosystem.
Is it because it feels a bit slimy in your jersey pocket?
No, Its because I genuinely do not think it does any harm whatsoever. As I said happy to change my behaviour if there is good reason.
and potentially bad for the local ecosystem.
How so?
I get it in the context of the OP. A well used walking trail up a mountain covered in banana skins is not cool. But on a road ride where I would throw it into a hedgerow, I still don’t see the problem. If it takes that banana peel 2 years to rot away, who cares? no-one has sees it, its not killing any wildlife. Would the same apply to an apple core? what about all the fruit that drops from trees onto the floor? should we be going around clearing all those up?
You are aware of just how ridiculous your "whataboutary" is with this argument? You're just looking for "reasons" to justify continued littering and your arguments really aren't robust at all. If you pack it in, you pack it out.
PH Levels
Eyesore
Not native
Anymore reasons why?
As long as their not those EU straight narners ok?
You are aware of just how ridiculous your “whataboutary” is with this argument? You’re just looking for “reasons” to justify continued littering and your arguments really aren’t robust at all.
Not at all. We are quite a few posts in and so far no-one has been able to tell me what actual damage or harm happens as a result of my actions.
what about all the fruit that drops from trees onto the floor? should we be going around clearing all those up?
Native plants, part of the ecosystem and generally found only under said fruit tree. Banana skins are wider spread out, don't rot as quickly and are not a native species.
In a survival situation bear grylls could fashion a coat from banana skins.
PH Levels
Eyesore
Not native
PH Levels? did you make that up? What do you think is going to happen from a single discarded banana peel?
Not native. Well initially I would say yes ok. But when you think about it, what difference does it make? Its not like I`m introducing a non native species to an area where it will effect the local eco system. There wont be any banana tress growing on the roadside in Herefordshire as a result.
trailwagger
Member
So what? If it takes 2 years to rot away, whats the problem with that?
Up a very busy tourist attraction mountain, it means there's a lot of half rotted banana skins lying around.
It's situational, imo, but it's the sort of situational where if you don't know for sure, you shouldn't do it. If you're, say, in Glentress forest and you chuck a banana skin into the bushes, it'll do absolutely no harm. But the line's somewhere and really, who can say exactly where that line is?
"Not native" annoys me- it makes no difference whatsoever, so mentioning it just creates a bit of doubt and argument.
We are quite a few posts in and so far no-one has been able to tell me what actual damage or harm happens as a result of my actions.
I'm assuming this is a troll, however...
1. Multiply your banana skin by the dozens of others day in, day out. This means that hundreds and hundreds are lying on the mountain for near years. An eyesore.
2. According to posts above and research it affects soil pH levels, introduces moulds and changes a delicate ecosystem.
3. It introduces the idea that throwing things away is acceptable to less intelligent or lazier folk than you, so suddenly leaving paper is ok, or maybe just anything like plastic or metal. It confirms a 'i don't care' attitude is ok. It's really not ok.
I'm intrigued as you how you would feel about a bunch of banana peels being thrown in your garden? Humour , I've humored you.
so far no-one has been able to tell me what actual damage or harm happens as a result of my actions
why should we?
it's trash, take it home.
or if you do want to be a lazy litter bug... why not prove to us that it is actually totally harmless?
I'm sure there are some experts that could provide real evidence one way or the other better than a bunch of MTBers, but hey, experts, who the frick believes anything they say these days?
Up a very busy tourist attraction mountain, it means there’s a lot of half rotted banana skins lying around.
It’s situational, imo, but it’s the sort of situational where if you don’t know for sure, you shouldn’t do it. If you’re, say, in Glentress forest and you chuck a banana skin into the bushes, it’ll do absolutely no harm. But the line’s somewhere and really, who can say exactly where that line is?
“Not native” annoys me- it makes no difference whatsoever, so mentioning it just creates a bit of doubt and argument.
+1
Serious question,
What is the consensus on what should be done with the banana skin once it's taken home? Presumably put it in a plastic bag and send it to landfill.
Yeah I wonder environmentally its probs better to spread organic waste around. Plus that research up there related to rivers.
Throwing a banana skin into a hedge which divides a farmers field from a road isn't going to do much harm. It won't grow into a banana tree and any diseases it carries aren't going to affect the local banana industry. It looks very slightly minging for a couple of years but isn't the ecological disaster that the road and the farmers' fields are.
On a mountainside is more offensive, though you'd need an awful lot of banana skins to change the pH of the mountainside, whereas your bike will do much more harm.
Even so, are you a total slob, or what?
Not at all. We are quite a few posts in and so far no-one has been able to tell me what actual damage or harm happens as a result of my actions.
Try rolling them up and sticking them in your ears because you are plainly nor interested in hearing any of the arguments against you just littering.
lucky7500
Subscriber
What is the consensus on what should be done with the banana skin once it’s taken home? Presumably put it in a plastic bag and send it to landfill.
You don't have food waste recycling?
Take them home with you unless you’re a scruffy lazy git.
If you can be bothered to take a banana skin off the mountain, just don't take it with you, eat it in the car before you go.
Some fruits have wax sprayed on the skin to give a longer shelf life. The wax prevents them rotting away quickly.
Isn't this also a major problem on the walk to everest base camp?
Two years for a banana skin to decompose ? WTAF?
Two years for a banana skin to decompose ? WTAF?
Perhaps we need a stw experiment to check? 🤔
Generally I am a scruffy lazy git, and I still manage to take all of my rubbish home with me, so I object on behalf of scruffy lazy hits everywhere...
What Nico says ^^.
Fields, hedges etc fine. They disappear within a couple of days.
Mountains, no. Partly it's just much more exposed so any form of litter stands out much more, partly there's nowhere for it to rot down.
ok, I eat a banana most weekdays and the skins are black in my snap tin when I get home, I'll start hanging them on a fence at work and monitor them rather than chucking them on our compost heap, yikes is that not a 'good thing'....?
What is the consensus on what should be done with the banana skin once it’s taken home?
I've this thing called a compost heap.
Helpful as ever, our council also collect compost materials and hot compost the lot a few miles from my house.
I can then collect the soil created, should I wish, a few weeks later.
I'm also of the view that you don't throw a skin anywhere - forest, field, hill. I've even started taking my coffee grounds home, for many years I dug and dumped them.
The only thing I leave now is pee and poop.
Fields, hedges etc fine. They disappear within a couple of days.
Sauce?
It may be some poor farmer is clearing it up so his animals don't eat them...?
Food waste collection is a thing of the past around here, nice while it lasted. Have to pay extra to have garden waste recycled and you mustn't mix the two.
Chap at work leaves a bucket in each of the welfare rooms so he can collect up the banana skins for his allotment.
Isn’t this also a major problem on the walk to everest base camp?
I think dead bodies, empty oxygen bottles and tents are a bigger issue than banana skins in this case.
@funkmasterp hopefully not at the base camp!
There's a 15 day hike a lot of tourists walk to the base camp. It's along this route the banana skins are left.
Higher up the mountain above base camp maybe.
The only thing I leave now is pee and poop.
If you carried it there you can carry it home.
@funkmasterp hopefully not at the base camp!
Reading comprehension fail for me there. They should move some of the bodies down there. Try and put people off
I used to discard them but don’t anymore. They do take longer to decompose. I once found a banana skin in the bottom of a bag that had been there for a good couple of years. It still hasn’t decomposed. It was black and shrivelled but still there. I’m not sure what they’re made of but not so sure they benefit the environment all that much. Nothing eats them. The things don’t even burn on the BBQ so clearly built to withstand all nature can throw at it. I still chuck apple cores away, they decompose a lot quicker. However for a while now on the bike i’ve switched to dried banana chips and dried mango. Very tasty, better form factor for fitting in your pocket. Doesn’t go all mushy if it’s hot and stuffed in there with other stuff and more convenient to eat on the move. And no skin to deal with.
I generally don't take bananas with me when I'm riding as they get a bit battered.
No way does it take 2 years for one to decompose, we'd have half rotten bananas everywhere!
Just to come back with my view - I'm very much in the "leave nothing but footprints" camp. I can't abide any sort of litter, decomposable or not. It's unsightly and unnecessary and at worse presents the view to others that it's OK to dump stuff you can't be bothered to carry back down the hill even though you were prepared to carry something heavier uo it.
On the 2 years figure, it needs some context. If you left an Oak branch on top of Ben Nevis I'm sure the leaves wouldn't decompose in 2 years (they'd blow away right enough).
Whoever said it is situational is right - they would take 2 years to decompose in that environment and therefore the quantity of them makes it unpleasant and unsightly. I'm not disagreeing with it, or saying dropping skins is OK, but the arguments need to be applicable to the situation. Otherwise, Brexit.
Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints
I’ve even started taking my coffee grounds home, for many years I dug and dumped them.
Good job too as caffeine is produced to reduce competition from other plant life as the coffee bush grows. IT's a really poor soil conditioner in the garden for this reason.
Can someone show a picture of a 2 year old banana skin please, I’ve just google imaged, and not got a single picture.
No way does it take 2 years for one to decompose, we’d have half rotten bananas everywhere!
No, it takes longer than 2 years...it still hadn't decomposed after circa 2 years in the bottom of the bag. It had shrivelled, was black, rock hard and didn't smell at all. It was a bit like a mummified Egyptian's willy... I know it was two years as it had been hanging in my garage for two years since I'd last used it on a walking holiday. I'm not really sure what a rotten banana looks like. Ones that are left in my fruit bowl for weeks go black and very soft but don't grow mould or rot down even though fruit around it might go mouldy and nasty looking, they just seem to continually degrade. Take the fruit out of the skin and the skin dries out and just shrivels and goes hard. Whatever they are made out of doesn't seem to rot or break down. Maybe sitting in my bag affects the decomposition process with the absence of sunlight and bugs and other stuff it would be exposed to in the open, but I'm pretty sure if it was an apple or something else it would have been a furry mouldy and smelly mess.
Can someone show a picture of a 2 year old banana skin please, I’ve just google imaged, and not got a single picture.
You want its birth certificate too?
Discarded banana skins and orange peel always really annoy me. It’s obviously litter unless you live in a place where they grow. So apple cores are fine in hedgerows but not on mountainsides, banana peel in the Seychelles and oranges in Seville. Don’t be a dick, take your litter home.
I always take my litter home
But, whoevers in charge of Ben Nevis (and the surrounding hills) should be making an attempt to build up the soil levels on the hillside.
In ecological terms, it's not long since the last ice sheets left and the forces of erosion (wind, water and temperature) have not yet provided enough of a soil base.
The lack of a sufficient soil base means that there are no trees on the hillsides, except at the lowest levels.
No trees means an exposed hillside.
An exposed hillside means no-where to take shelter from lightning or wind and rain.
That's what puts me off ever going up there...and I'd hate to be 'caught short' on that track😟
Why do guinea pigs go mental for banana skins? All six of ours over the last ~10 years love them.
Is there no guinea pig rescue centre near Ben Nevis?
Anyone carry their shit out? Its now recommended ( certainly for some areas)
Anyone carry their shit out?
Yes, Outward Bound courses do I'm told.
You can prevent this scourge by wrapping your banana skins in a crisp packet before disposal
In 10or 12 outward bound trips to Ullswater with 100s of kids in total the poo tube was knowingly deployed only twice when they realise what they will have to carry out!! Carry your crap out with you please
Classic STW . This will probably run to 100 posts . I chuck mine away just off the trai and still sleep at night .
The lack of a sufficient soil base means that there are no trees on the hillsides, except at the lowest levels.
The tree line in Scotland is only around 600m.
Classic STW . This will probably run to 100 posts . I chuck mine away just off the trai and still sleep at night .
Then you're a massive tosspiece.
Banana skins and human shite and human ashes sprinkled from urns introduce nutrients to places with unique and delicate flora and fauna. You don’t go skipping about on cryptobiotic soil in some places in Moab if you can possibly avoid it. I’m sure some mountain bikers with massive camelbaks can dispose of all their waste responsibly. Maybe take some extra home too?
Still waiting for Trailwaggers, RNs addresses so we know where to leave our banana skins.
I asked a similar question about discarding non native food waste to the farm manager just the other day, it wasn’t in relation to banana skins though...
Potatoes. The estate grows and farms a lot of potatoes and inevitably, some remain in the ground, others are dropped or fall out of the Bailey trailers. How do these non native tubers affect the soil and ecosystem, in much the same manner a banana skin might? Was my specific question.
He shrugged his shoulders.
Custodians of the land 😉
No way does it take 2 years for one to decompose, we’d have half rotten bananas everywhere!
We do (on the mountains), that's the whole issue.