A humorous, satirical article on The Onion about “eco-littering” was so well written, a few people thought it was the real deal.

While the eco-littering concept was meant to be tongue-in-cheek; it wasn’t that far off from the truth – people *are* more likely to thoughtlessly discard something if it’s biodegradable and I have certainly heard that excuse before. I think I may have used it on occasion myself.

Pollution comes in all sorts of forms – among them are light pollution, noise pollution and visual pollution; the latter being where eco-littering has an affect. Visual pollution can really destroy the earthy feel of bushland and forests.

This morning when I was doing my rounds of the local reserve; I spent much of my walk picking up the remnants of newspaper that the wind had blown all over the place. It’s amazing how much area a weekend edition newspaper can cover. Sure, it would have broken down within a very short space of time, but seeing the kangaroos, the bush and the financial section together really sort of spoiled the vista.

Eco-littering, or “neo-litterbugs” as The Onion termed those who engaged in the practice are certainly out there and they can really take the shine off connecting with nature for the next folks who come along to visit an area.

Regardless of how earth friendly packaging may be, when visiting nature reserves and the like, the old saying of “take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints” continues to be really good advice.