Banana skin - in the bin, or on the ground as compost?

[Umlellala]

Ok, not a big dilemma but,

eating a banana on the way to work...

do you throw the peel/skin in the bin (therefore keeping the street tidy but adding food waste to landfill - unhelpful methane?)

OR

do you throw it by the bottom of a tree/near some unseen patch of ground where it will compost (but admittedly may LOOK like litter til it does?)

What do you think?

If you're in a city, then in the bin, otherwise it is just unsightly rubbish. If people always threw their biodegradable stuff under bushes etc. there would be a constant pile of rotten stuff there, it wouldn't be nice.

If you're out in the countryside, then under a bush, in a hedgerow, under a rock where it will decompose or be broken down or eaten by something.

Whether it goes to a landfil where it decomposes, or under a bush where it decomposes, would make no difference to 'unhelpful methane' that it might or might not give off. It will rot down and decompose regardless, so I wouldn't think that is an issue really.

Yes, I suppose that makes sense. But I thought we weren't supposed to put food waste in landfill - is there a different reason?

I think that methane is the result of anaerobic decomposition, isn't that right? And you get a lot more of that happening in landfill than under a bush. Also, once in landfill, that's 'it' for the banana; if it rots down under a tree then eventually it'll make another tree.

were in countryside so id chuck it under hedge.dc love telling theyre friends whats rubbish and whats biodegradable.

Agree with littlefrog. Aerobic decomposition (i.e. exposed to the air) is better. Methane is over 20 times as potent a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide (which is what you get eventually from aerobic decomposition.

Take it home and compost it yourself? If only they didn't go black and slimy...

I've always thought that if we are in the countryside, it's OK to throw apple cores/banana skins out of the window, although not any other litter obviously!

Having read of a couple of people being fined for doing so (one admittedly in town), I've re-thought this!

I would always take it home and compost it. Can't see any reason why you wouldn't do that.

We always throw our cores/skins under a hedge or in a ditch "for the birds & animals" ! Otherwise they go home into our compost or if cores into our labrador-he'll recycle ANYTHING!!!

Ecow. bananas are sooo slimy though aren't they?