On not leaving a trace

A Clean Place

Tokyo is one of the cleanest cities I’ve ever been in.  No plastic grocery bags blowing in the streets.  No black globs of gum on the sidewalk.  No McDonald’s wrappers blowing over storm drains.  Yet I can’t remember seeing any trash cans on the streets.  Domonick and I were eating a plastic-wrapped convenience store treat in the street and when it was time to toss the wrapper, we were left searching for a receptacle.  We finally gave up and I stuck the wrapper in my pocket.  The Tokyo metropolitan area is home to approximately 36 million people.  How was Tokyo so clean without a trash can in sight?

After a little digging, I discovered that most public trash cans in Tokyo were removed in 1995 after a series of sarin gas attacks in train stations.  It was thought that trash cans could hold terrorist weapons so they were eliminated.  Today, most people simply carry their trash with them until they can find a place to throw it away.

A Not-So-Clean Place

On the other hand, there was plenty of litter to be seen on the later sections of the Camino del Norte in Spain.  When the Norte route meets up with the Frances route (for 20ish miles), we were inundated with trash cans every mile it seemed.  Many were overflowing.  It also appeared that some pilgrims didn’t even bother using a trash can and threw their trash on the side of the trail.  Along the entire Norte route, a popular practice was leaving orange peels on the ground.  Yes, orange peels are organic matter, however, when they are resting on top of soil or cement, they won’t be biodegrading anytime soon.

This leads me to one of my biggest pet peeves:  Charmin Blooms.

What is a Charmin Bloom you might ask?  It is people relieving themself in the woods, using toilet paper, and then leaving that toilet paper behind.

You might ask, “Well, what about burying the toilet paper?”.  Don’t do it.  Animals dig it up.  I have witnessed this time and time again, particularly on the Pacific Crest Trail.  Between greetings of “Buen Camino” and “Buenos Dias” on the Camino, I wanted to chime in “Pack it in, pack it out”.  Sure, I wouldn’t consider most of the Camino wilderness, but the same rules still apply.  If you brought it with you, keep it until you can dispose of it properly.

Keep it Clean.  This is Earth, not Uranus.

These “rules” I mention above have been succinctly listed by the national organization called “Leave No Trace”.  This blog post doesn’t cover all of these principles, but they are important to mention.  I provide them below.

Leave No Trace Seven Principles©:

• Plan Ahead and Prepare
• Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
• Dispose of Waste Properly
• Leave What You Find
• Minimize Campfire Impacts
• Respect Wildlife
• Be Considerate of Other Visitors

© 1999 by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor
Ethics: www.LNT.org.

Sure, who wants to carry around poopy toilet paper or used feminine hygiene products?  No one.  However, it is your responsibility to leave a place how you found it (or perhaps cleaner!  I am an ardent picker-upper of micro-litter).  Until you are “zero waste”, dispose of your waste properly.

We have been blessed with a beautiful place to live, and we should minimize our impacts as much as we can.  Leaving these areas how we found them are a small, but crucial step in preserving these areas for future generations.  Please think twice next time you’re carelessly opening up that Snickers bar or opening your car window to toss a banana peel.  If you wouldn’t want to see it, why leave it for someone else?  I will end with the “Prayer of the Woods”, a marker I discovered by Tahquemenon Falls in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.