On the go Take your rubbish with you

The golden rule for sustainable hiking: “Everything you take with you, take back home.” That is partic­ularly true for rubbish – no matter if you are staying in a cabin or going for a hike. It is advisable to pack a bag in your backpack to collect and dispose of the rubbish when you reach the foot of the mountain. This rule applies not only to plastic packaging, but also to tissues and food waste. While an apple core decomposes relatively quickly, a banana peel needs between one and three years.

Here’s an overview of the average decom­posing times of rubbish on a mountain:

Chewing gum: 5 years

Cigarette butt: 2–7 years

Tissue: 1–5 years

Banana peel: 1–3 years

Nylon fibres: 60 years

Plastic bag: 120 years

Tin can: 500 years

Plastic bottle: 500–1,000 years

In addition, if you see rubbish others have left behind, you should also simply bag it and take it with you. Nature will thank you for it.