In July, my wife and I were on a track through granite boulders and eucalypt trees in Girraween National Park, Queensland. It was magical, with birds and wild flowers and, apart from the track itself, little sign that other people had been here.
Suddenly, right on a track junction, were glaringly white pieces of upturned orange peel. Who would drop these in such an unspoiled place? Did they think it was unimportant because, being organic matter, peel would decay? We make garden compost and know that decay rates depend on factors like temperature, moisture and the live organisms in the compost. So how long would the peel remain in Girraween if no one picked it up? A search of the internet revealed many views, of which this table was one. Orange peel on a rocky surface in a dry Australian climate would probably take well over six months.
Perhaps I'm over-sensitive to bits of peel, but they spoiled a pristine landscape. In our urban environment we're all exposed to much more litter every day.
Decay rate is not the only consideration, of course. Broken glass is dangerous. Dog droppings are offensive in our streets. Garden waste spreads weeds. The table shows that those cans, bottles and plastic containers are destined to remain in our streets for hundreds of years - unless other people pick them up. That costs us all. So why does this material get discarded? Just today, conservation volunteers arrived at Gordon Park Reserve to find a pile of old electronic gear dumped on top of shrubs that the volunteers had grown, planted and tended for three years. Clever dumpers? This was right under a signposted surveillance camera. Did they dump the TVs and other items to avoid dump fees? It's even $20 for a car trailer of green waste at a local recycling depot. Our council might consider free disposal of green waste at least, because it can be recycled locally and sold as compost. Because weed spread would be reduced, we would all gain from having fewer environmental and financial costs.
Colin Ogle is retired from the Department of Conservation and works as a volunteer in various local conservation and plant-related projects.
