No matter what road you're on in the state of Iowa, if you look long enough, you will find some kind of litter. It's pretty sad, to be honest. This is not just an Iowa problem either. You can find litter just about anywhere. According to Keep Iowa Beautiful, there is an estimated 190 million pieces of litter along the 114,000 miles of roadway in Iowa. That's a giant YIKES.

Without getting too preachy here...unless your uber rich and can afford to travel to Mars, we only have 1 planet. We should all be doing a better job to take care of it.

Can You Throw Banana Peels Out Of Your Window?

The quick answer is no. Throwing a banana peel or apple core out of your window is considered littering in the state of Iowa.

According to Iowa Legis, Code 321.369 - "A person shall not throw or deposit upon a highway any glass bottle, glass, nails, tacks, wire, cans, trash, garbage, rubbish, litter, offal, or any other debris. A person shall not throw or deposit upon a highway a substance likely to injure any person, animal, or vehicle upon the highway. A person who violates this section or section 321.370 commits a misdemeanor."

This misdemeanor has a scheduled fine of $90 and according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. You could also be required to perform "litter cleanup" in the form of community service.

But It's Biodegradable?

Some people will argue that apple cores or banana peels are biodegradable, so what's the big deal?

There are a few issues that come along with throwing food out of your car window, whether it's biodegradable or not. You could hit a car behind you being a pretty big factor. It likely won't cause a ton of damage but it is possible and what a stupid thing to get reported for.

Another big reason is these can be dangerous for both motorists and animals. Food on the side of the road can attract a variety of animals, which then brings them closer to the road.

I'm not sure anyone wants to hit an animal and damage their vehicle or have to swerve out of the way of one... and you never know what could happen in that scenario. That can cause accidents with cars in oncoming traffic, you could lose control of your car and end up in the ditch or worse. It can also be dangerous to slam on your breaks with cars behind you.

If a driver behind you isn't quick enough to hit the brakes, they might end up in your back windshield. Having animals on the sides of the road can lead to a plethora of problems for motorists.

Not only can food left on the side of the road bring animals out of the safety of nature and closer to our roads, but even if a banana peel is biodegradable, it can take anywhere from 7 months to 2 years to fully decompose, according to Conserve Energy Future.

If everyone threw their banana peels/apple cores on the side of the road, it leads to a pretty unsightly amount of garbage in our environments and roadways. Who wants to drive and look at garbage on our roadways for up to 7 months long?

It may not seem like the biggest of deals to chuck fruit you are eating out of your car window as you go about your day but if you do this and get caught, be prepared to deal with the consequences that come with it.