Fined For Throwing Apple Core

changkra

JoanneJ wrote: »

"i've been hit by motorists throwing things from their windows whilst out cycling "

Please inform us how much the person was fined for this dangerous action?

"why wouldn't biodegradable items be considered as litter unless you were putting them in a compost heap?"

This was ONE thin apple core set onto a long grassed area, without anyone at risk of being hit since there was no other traffic [my neice CAN use her rear view mirror]. It was such a one off occurence by her that she can clearly recall the date/place/time BUT thought her approach was like recycling a small piece of biodegradable waste matter which would have been out of view of anything but the insects/birds/bacteria which would feast upon it in minutes/hours.

There were a number of yellow coated workmen on the opposite bank and presumably it was one of these who decided to note the car registration number, and then find time to cross the road to the verge and hunt for the "core". Nice to have the time to engage in such vital crime prevention.

This was NOT a police officer; the letter refers to a LA 'officer'. Is every LA worker an OFFICER then?

GROSSLY UNFAIRLY PENALISED.

There are cameras on dual carriage ways and motorways that he fire brigade are constantly monitoring in case of accidentsas theya re first pot of call and they call the police etc out, they could have contacted the Police not the workman.

No she's not

SnowyOwl_2

Paper is biodegradable as well, so let's all start chucking our newspapers out the car window.

dangeroussports

SnowyOwl i know your being sarcastic but paper isnt edible to animal life like the apple core.

However the apple, if it was brought from Tesco, would most likely contain GM products and chemically treated. Therefore animals probably woudnt eat it unless they have been domesticated on it.

I remember watching a program where mice were starved to see if they would eat certain chemically foodstuff (what we eat) and they didnt they died rather than eat what we call food.

So that apple core is biodegradeable but unhealthy for animals. Eating these food stuff makes people reply to my posts.

zappster1966

Everything is biodegradable eventually ! Depends how long it takes.

But it stretches credibility to breaking point to have us think that she made a conscious decision about the biodegradeability of the apple core as she lobbed it out of the car window. And why stop at apple cores ? Throw out that McDonalds too. Or yesterdays chicken curry ... just let's all start lobbing our food waste on the public highway because it'll feed lil hungry bunny rabbits.

Quit moaning. She deserved a fine. But if only the authorities were quite so diligent when it came to catching real criminals how much better would our lives be ...

zappster1966

In fact it wouldve been better to have her sweep the streets for a day rather than a fine. She might learn.

Hapless_2

throwing food onto the ground, whether from a vehicle or no, whether onto grassland or no, can attract vermin. Anything thrown from/at a moving vehicle is dangerous.
something hits the car behind, car slams on brakes, the car behind that hits or swerves to avoid the previous car...ad infinitum.

SnowyOwl_2

Yep I was of course being sarcastic! I do think it was a bit harsh on the OP's niece to be fined £75, but if the rule is No Littering and the penalty is £75 I really don't see any cause for complaint.

Litter throwing is a disgusting habit, why be selective about what can and cannot be chucked in the roadside? I don't think there is a particularly high percentage of people who compost their kitchen waste, and I don't expect that throwing it on the roadside verges would be a particularly acceptable alternative.

Using a bin = no litter = no fine.

1jim

Throwing litter (of any description) out of a moving car is dangerous, it is a stretch to say that as she was driving along at 70mph and made a deliberate decision to throw this apple core out of a window for the benefit of the wildlife or of the environment, as you say she has never done this before so why on this day?? whe was littering She got caught and now has to pay up!

andrewmoorcroft

Joanne
I can't see in ur OP what the actual offence was. If it is for littering then i dont understand why trees overhanging public highways are not littering also. There are even conker and apple trees that have fall out onto council property. A well aimed apple core is far more biodegradable and less dangerous than a conker that can fall anytime on a car or a person. How do the council get away with their conker tress? Sounds like the authority are saying 'do as i say' and they don't practice what they preach. The council planted these trees knowing that they would dangerously litter, so they are purposely littering the streets (not by accident) and they continue to do it!
I throw my apple core in the long grass of a central reservation everyday with the thought that it isn't harming anyone. I do disagree with chewing gum though even if no one will see it.
There will be many different opinions on this thread and you shouldnt get too upset. Throwing it was only dangerous if you lost control whilst doing it it caused someone else to be in danger. This is no different to any other legal distraction.
Good luck!

tcall

While on the face of it, i can understand the OP feeling outraged by this, if I saw someone eating an apple in the street and just dropping the core on the floor, i'd be pretty disgusted. I don't see the two being that dissimilar.

The following excuses kinda lose the arguement for me:

a) it gets described by the OP as a "small core" and "one thin core" in order to try and justify the act. (We all already know what an apple core looks like.)

and

b) said core was carefully aimed at the "long" grass area in order to make sure it would biodegrade out of sight. (I hope she still had full concentration on her driving whilst also guaranteeing that she gave correct weight and direction to her throw, to ensure it hit the patch of "long" grass with 100% accuracy.)

When someone tries to paint over the facts with emotive description, i kinda lose any sympathy really.