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Kate Gregory
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"Things don't always go perfectly" - what does that mean? There is no reason at all you should ever leave plastic behind.

  1. Bring in as little plastic as you can. Pack your stuff in reusable containers.
  2. If something is plastic-wrapped or in a plastic bag, be a person who cares and don't let that plastic blow away or drop from your hand. Stick it in a pocket right away, and have a place to keep it so you can take it back out with you
  3. If you come across someone else's garbage, whether plastic, glass, tin or whatnot, take it out. Put it in the "place to keep it" - I use the garbage bag that backcountry parks issue you with your permit number written on it. (Usually I find nothing and I have no garbage of my own so the bag comes out empty. I keep it in my glove compartment and take it in on trips where one wasn't issued to me. It serves as a good visual reminder that it contains garbage, something that is highly unusual on my trips.)
  4. If you spot someone else's plastic from a distance, and can't safely get to it to clean it up, you also don't know anything about its chemistry, so there's nothing you can do. Console yourself with the fact you did numbers 1-3.
  5. If you come across a piece of plastic waste so large it's impossible for you to remove it, take a picture, ideally geotagged, and report it to the park people or landowner when you leave. If the land is entirely public, investigate to see if there's someone you can report to. For example a 1000L tank of dubious liquid is something you have to leave behind, but should still act on in some way.

If it matters to you that plastic isn't left behind, plastic won't be left behind. And that's the only reasonable approach, really.

"Things don't always go perfectly" - what does that mean? There is no reason at all you should ever leave plastic behind.

  1. Bring in as little plastic as you can. Pack your stuff in reusable containers.
  2. If something is plastic-wrapped or in a plastic bag, be a person who cares and don't let that plastic blow away or drop from your hand. Stick it in a pocket right away, and have a place to keep it so you can take it back out with you
  3. If you come across someone else's garbage, whether plastic, glass, tin or whatnot, take it out. Put it in the "place to keep it" - I use the garbage bag that backcountry parks issue you with your permit number written on it.
  4. If you spot someone else's plastic from a distance, and can't safely get to it to clean it up, you also don't know anything about its chemistry, so there's nothing you can do. Console yourself with the fact you did numbers 1-3.
  5. If you come across a piece of plastic waste so large it's impossible for you to remove it, take a picture, ideally geotagged, and report it to the park people or landowner when you leave. If the land is entirely public, investigate to see if there's someone you can report to. For example a 1000L tank of dubious liquid is something you have to leave behind, but should still act on in some way.

If it matters to you that plastic isn't left behind, plastic won't be left behind. And that's the only reasonable approach, really.

"Things don't always go perfectly" - what does that mean? There is no reason at all you should ever leave plastic behind.

  1. Bring in as little plastic as you can. Pack your stuff in reusable containers.
  2. If something is plastic-wrapped or in a plastic bag, be a person who cares and don't let that plastic blow away or drop from your hand. Stick it in a pocket right away, and have a place to keep it so you can take it back out with you
  3. If you come across someone else's garbage, whether plastic, glass, tin or whatnot, take it out. Put it in the "place to keep it" - I use the garbage bag that backcountry parks issue you with your permit number written on it. (Usually I find nothing and I have no garbage of my own so the bag comes out empty. I keep it in my glove compartment and take it in on trips where one wasn't issued to me. It serves as a good visual reminder that it contains garbage, something that is highly unusual on my trips.)
  4. If you spot someone else's plastic from a distance, and can't safely get to it to clean it up, you also don't know anything about its chemistry, so there's nothing you can do. Console yourself with the fact you did numbers 1-3.
  5. If you come across a piece of plastic waste so large it's impossible for you to remove it, take a picture, ideally geotagged, and report it to the park people or landowner when you leave. If the land is entirely public, investigate to see if there's someone you can report to. For example a 1000L tank of dubious liquid is something you have to leave behind, but should still act on in some way.

If it matters to you that plastic isn't left behind, plastic won't be left behind. And that's the only reasonable approach, really.

Source Link
Kate Gregory
  • 12.7k
  • 3
  • 49
  • 74

"Things don't always go perfectly" - what does that mean? There is no reason at all you should ever leave plastic behind.

  1. Bring in as little plastic as you can. Pack your stuff in reusable containers.
  2. If something is plastic-wrapped or in a plastic bag, be a person who cares and don't let that plastic blow away or drop from your hand. Stick it in a pocket right away, and have a place to keep it so you can take it back out with you
  3. If you come across someone else's garbage, whether plastic, glass, tin or whatnot, take it out. Put it in the "place to keep it" - I use the garbage bag that backcountry parks issue you with your permit number written on it.
  4. If you spot someone else's plastic from a distance, and can't safely get to it to clean it up, you also don't know anything about its chemistry, so there's nothing you can do. Console yourself with the fact you did numbers 1-3.
  5. If you come across a piece of plastic waste so large it's impossible for you to remove it, take a picture, ideally geotagged, and report it to the park people or landowner when you leave. If the land is entirely public, investigate to see if there's someone you can report to. For example a 1000L tank of dubious liquid is something you have to leave behind, but should still act on in some way.

If it matters to you that plastic isn't left behind, plastic won't be left behind. And that's the only reasonable approach, really.