1 Using the neighbouring bush as a tip
– has a number of consequences that may not have been counted on.
It may increase fire hazards if it is combustible.
It may result in foreign plants becoming an invasive weed that disrupts the local ecosystem
2 Being careless with possibly invasive plants
Being careless with possibly invasive plants in your garden can result in the same damage to ecosystems that dumping can cause.
Only one seed need escape your garden in order to establish an aggressive alien plant in the local ecosystem.
Pictured is Japanese Honeysuckle overhanging a reserve where it has become a difficult pest weed.
3 Allowing garden waste to get into drains
Drains are for carrying away storm water, so allowing garden or other waste
to get into storm water can clog drains, and may cause flooding.
Garden waste usually has some hidden seeds in its midst.
Once in the storm water drain the seeds can be swept away out of your control;
they germinate and begin causing trouble for the local plants and animals.
4 Being careless with domestic animals
Being careless with domestic animals in your garden and extended neighbourhood can have far reaching consequences.
Some plants have their flowers fertilized by very specific animals.
If feral cats destroy a population of Sugar Gliders (tiny possums)which they can easily do,
some of our magnificent flowering banksia shrubs can stop producing seeds
and the shrubs will not be renewed when they age.
Pictured are remains of female Koel cuckoo after attack by fox or cat.
5 Overuse of garden chemicals
Overuse of weed killers, pesticides and fertilizers can lead to
damage to other organisms apart from the targets.
Pesticide use can kill off predator insects
that would keep the pests under control in a balanced environment
or destroy insects important for fertilisation of some plants.
Excess fertilizers can be leached out of the soil and washed away
so that it encourages the growth of exotic weeds rather than native plants.
