A hiker in Texas was left furious by the amount of garbage they found while taking a stroll around Lake Austin.
They took that anger to Reddit, where they posted images of food and beverage packaging strewn along the trail.
"The trash in our parks and trails is getting out of hand," the hiker captioned the post.
The issue has become so bad that they feel they can no longer make the most of their time outdoors, instead spending hours cleaning up after other people's irresponsible actions.
"It's gotten to a point where I can't enjoy a hike or a run anywhere in Austin without having to bring a trash bag with me," they commented on one of the pictures. "Why do people keep leaving it like this?"
In addition to ruining what would otherwise be a peaceful walk in nature, the presence of trash like this will do untold damage to the local ecosystem. The majority of the waste seems to be plastic, which will be harmful on a number of levels.
Plastic is typically made from dirty fuel, which pollutes the atmosphere all the way through its life cycle. When discarded, single-use plastics can leach harmful chemicals into soil — which can prevent future growth — or water sources, where they can poison aquatic animals and pollute water supplies.
Meanwhile, whether on land or in the water, plastics will not break down naturally, but they can erode into smaller particles. Nano- and microplastics can enter the bodies of animals through ingestion, where they will persist in their internal organs. While more research needs to be done about the effect of plastics on the body, they have been linked to reproductive and developmental issues, metabolic disorders, and neurotoxicity.
Animals are also likely to mistake larger plastic particles for food, which could lead to choking hazards or internal starvation — meaning they are unable to digest actual food.
Instead of taking plastic bottles on your hike, it's far better to take a reusable container. Not only is this better for the planet, but it will save you money in the long term.
Unfortunately, this doesn't appear to be an issue that is unique to the Lake Austin area.
"Haven't been out in a while, but the last few times we went to the lost creek spot on Barton we would take trash bags," another Redditor observed. "Almost didn't have enough hands to carry out the 8 to 10 bags worth we would collect before leaving."
"If y'all think this is anywhere near bad you should check out the trash in Colorado River Wildlife Preserve," said one frustrated commenter. "It's such a beautiful park with such a disgusting enormous amount of trash that nobody seems to care exists."
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