In one spot emergency services found four discarded canisters holding a potentially lethal chemical used to kill rabbits. A little further up the highway they found a dumped medical waste container full of syringes.

Police will investigate both discoveries.

It’s nothing new to see our highways and roads littered with bottles, cans, takeaway food wrappers and the like.

But this was far more serious.

The Country Fire Authority later confirmed these canisters, in the right conditions and on someone’s unlucky day, had the potential to do some real damage, perhaps even kill.

A CFA spokesman said the white chemical that had spilled from some of the canisters gave off fatal toxic fumes when exposed to moisture. Lucky there was no rain as these canisters sat beside a busy highway.

Bullet holes in the canisters suggest someone used them for target practice and then simply threw them away. Was the shooting done there or somewhere else? Another worry.

Let’s hope a police investigation into this incident proves fruitful. Thankfully, the discarded medical waste was more secure than the leaking canisters.

It’s comforting that police and the CFA took no chances yesterday. They acted properly in closing off the area and using protective equipment to safely remove the canisters and leaked chemical.

Yes, the incident probably frustrated those on the Calder at the time who had to change plans or sit at a roadblock until the area was declared safe.

But surely even they would agree it’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to dealing with unknown chemicals.

It’s sad that our highway has become a dumping ground for such items.

Do people not see the danger in their actions? Do people not care about the consequences of their actions for others?

Clearly, the answer is not in these cases.