Nothing is more irksome than starting off a camping trip by arriving at your campsite and finding it full of trash. All too often RVers complain about other campers ruining camping experiences by leaving behind their trash, not picking up bullet or shotgun casings, leaving broken glass everywhere, or otherwise leaving a mess of a campsite. It doesn’t matter if camping occurs in the wild, like on state or federal land, or on private property like a RV resort, a trashy site is a complete and total bummer.
Some Tips for Being a Good Steward:
- 1. Pack it in, pack it out (or put your trash in established trash containers). If the trash is full, take your trash to another trash can.
- 2. If you’re enjoying various recreational activities during a camping trip, make sure to clean up after yourself. Pick up shell casings, fish guts, don’t have a leaky OHV, and basically clean up after your activities.
- 3. Dispose of poop properly! When sewage tanks are full, they need to be dumped into the sewage system so the waste can be properly treated. Quite often street-side drains are only for storm runoff, and the water from the street doesn’t get treated at a waste treatment center.
- 4. If you have time and space, take a few minutes to pick up trash around your campsite that may have blown in during a storm.
- 5. If you feel comfortable, ask others around you to also be good stewards and pick up after themselves.
Camping is very much a privilege to enjoy the great outdoors. When trash is left behind, bullet holes left in campground signage, or a mess left in a campground bathroom, it ruins the experience for others, and risks losing precious natural resources for recreational opportunities. Don’t ruin it, improve it; be a good steward!
