It is a pet peeve of mine that cyclist litter the roads with their Gu and energy bar wrappers. I ride mostly in the mountains and the only ones using those products up there are cyclists. How arrogant to toss your 100 calorie waste of money in a National Forest.
While watching the TDF today a few riders crested a climb and were handed food. An Astana rider battling with Volker for KOM points was handed a gel pac and while on camera he squeezed it down. These guys don't use the 100 calorie pacs but use the larger 600 calorie ones so it took him a couple of moments. When finished , still on camera, he folded it up and put it in his jersey pocket. I was surprised and pleasantly so. Right on. If a guy fighting for a coveted jersey in the TDF can care enough about our planet to not litter then I think we a cyclist should be able to do so as well. Come on people, lets be responsible.
FYI, I carry a gel flask filled with honey. Ounce for ounce the same caloric content, pure glucose that goes straight into the blood stream by-passing the liver, and 0 litter.