Dispensing Trash Properly

[maverick]

Yosemite NP:

We’re not trying to trash talk, but let’s talk about TRASH! Before you head to the park this season, take a moment to think about how you’re planning to pack it in AND pack it out.

Every year, our wilderness restoration crews remove illegal campsites in Yosemite’s wilderness, and along the way collect and remove trash. In 2019, the crew collected over 25 pounds of trash from the wilderness alone. The most common items found include aluminum foil, micro-trash, toilet paper, and even socks.

To keep the wilderness clean for all, here are some helpful tips:

•Don’t let foil spoil the wilderness! Aluminum foil is found in most fire rings. Contrary to popular belief, foil does not melt, but fragments into smaller pieces. Please refrain from throwing foil into your fire at the end of the night.

•Micro-trash comes from many different sources. The greatest culprit is foil lined granola bar wrappers. Try to open bars so that the wrapper remains in one piece, instead of ripping off a tiny corner that can easily get dropped on the ground. Make sure to be aware of any small micro-trash that you might have dropped while snacking.

•Bring resealable bags to put used toilet paper and sanitary products in. Toilet paper does not decompose as fast as you might think and must be packed out!

•Try not to lose your socks, the ecosystem and your toes will thank you.

If you find yourself in the wilderness this summer, please be mindful of your trash and pack it out!

[balzaccom]

Good post Mav--thank you. Every trip we've taken in the last five years has involved packing out more than we packed in.

It's not hard, people. Just think of the wilderness as your bedroom, and pick everything up.

[SSSdave]

Much to be said about the necessary first step educating others about proper behavior. But then another part of the answer is changing their well practiced inner devil of many that already know what is expected.

For some in this era, if they think no one is watching, it is just like the old survey showing many (especially male teens thru young adults) that if asked report washing their hands after visits to public restrooms, actually do not if they think no others are watching. That is also why the freeway on-ramps that tend to be out of view of other drivers where fast food restaurants are nearby, have such a ridiculous amount of trash. Yes the secret life of many in this era is not the one I grew up during.

One of the most used local trails by hikers, joggers, bicyclists, and more in our nearby Santa Cruz Mountains is the trail from downtown Los Gatos to the top of St Josephs Hill. One stretch favored by mountain bikers is a short section through dense manzanita. A few years ago after a rain, I crawled into its labyrinths in order to photographic beautiful branches of its shiny red-purple bark. Found piles of plastic water and soda bottles bicyclist had been tossing where they thought no one would notice. I pulled out several dozen bottles and instead of carrying them back since I didn't have a bag, instead laid them out along the trail so the guilty could look at their years in the making deeds.

Tattling little brother Billy as their mother returns from watering her garden. Mommy, Mommy, I saw Bobby take a cookie out of the cookie jar!

[Wandering Daisy]

Trash is different from forgotten or lost items. Trash is intentional; forgotten stuff is human error. I try to reduce forgetting by using brightly colored small items. I have hunter orange strings on many smaller items. Doing a final "walk-around" of your campsite helps too, as well as a mental inventory of things like tent stakes. My biggest missed item seems to be used match sticks. I usually find one on my walk-around. Oh, also an occasional tea bag left on a rock to dry overnight. Sometimes I leave a clothing item put out on a branch to dry. Now I add an orange string on the limb so I can easily see it when I pack up.

As for other's forgotten items, tent stakes are common, wrapping from first aid such as band-aid wrappers are common, as is old moleskin which probably falls off skin unbeknownst to the person. Broken fishing lures/flies and line are commonly found.

Trash, like TP, Kleenex or food wrappers on the trail is very annoying because it is plain lazy to throw them on the ground for others to pick up.

Not sure if this will ever happen in the Sierra, but in the Wind Rivers the FS has quit putting trash cans at the more remote trailheads, instead having one large garbage bin where the dirt road enters the paved roads. People seem to be bringing out their trash.

[c9h13no3]

Preaching is cheap. Recognizing that humans leave trash impacts (unintentionally or otherwise) and counteracting that is the next step. We can either pack out other's trash or pay more for someone else to. But those are really the only choices if you want a clean, yet heavily used wilderness.

[Wandering Daisy]

Once a trail or camp area has trash on the ground there seems to be an inclination for other to say "what the hell" and leave more trash. This is classic in trashed out public restrooms. I agree that those who already leave trash knowingly are not likely to change behavior. There probably are some who are open to change so I would not give up on informing all together. A similar issue is litter along highways. In spite of repeated highway clean-ups, throwing trash out the window continues, as if it does not matter because someone else will always come pick it up. The same people who dump trash on the highways are likely to do the same in the wilderness.

As for us picking up trash along trails and in camps, this works for a lot of areas, but is not enough on some highly/over-used trails. I think it will have to be a combination of individuals picking stuff up, organized trash removal efforts, paid pick up and and education effort. Picking up improperly buried human and dog poop is difficult- both for health reasons, smell and it weighs a lot more than a piece of TP.

Honestly, I have not run into a lot of trash in the wilderness, probably because I avoid heavily used trails. But I have encountered trash at forest service dispersed campsites, particularly a lot of broken glass.

[tomba]

When you find trash in the wilderness, you can pack it out, take a photo, and show it here.

I use one hip belt pocket for trash I find. I have a small sandwich bag in it. I also carry a couple of grocery store vegetable bags for larger trash I find.

[dave54]

Interesting experiences this week.
Hiking in the Uinta Mountains the last two weeks I noticed something unusual -- the lack of trash along the trails. Today we hiked a very popular trail to a couple of lakes. The TH parking lot was filled and encountered another party every few hundred yards. But no trash along the trails! These trails are mostly used by visitors from the SLC metro area. Maybe Utahns have a different attitude about the outdoors. They don't litter and Wilderness campsites are not chopped up.
Being from California I just expect trash along the trail.