Rant for today - bottles and cans in fireplaces.

[Andrew_C]

I work for a land management organization north east of Melbourne, what is it with campers throwing bottles and cans in fires, half our campsites look like tip sites. Disgusting pigs leave sh1t everywhere.

I can see how land managers get annoyed and close the places down.

Funnily enough, the rave parties seem to clean up the most out of anybody.

[D4D]

...what is it with campers throwing bottles and cans in fires, half our campsites look like tip sites

Some people are not that bright and ruin it for everyone else.

[Kit_e_kat9]

... and then there are those that think a fairie comes along and cleans up after them. 

It's amongst my pet hates.  It closely follows those parents who think disposable nappies are biodegradable in less than 5 minutes, and those that think their effluent is a pleasant thing to camp near.

I'm sure that's why bullets where invented.   

What's that saying?  Leave no Trace.  I think it should be extremely prominent everywhere we go, drilled into us as kids, and expensive littering fines enforced ... though I doubt that would even work with some types.

Kit_e

[Tjupurula]

Know exacly what you are talking about Andrew.  We have a habit of acrrying extra rubbish bags and gloves, and frequently cleaning up when we stop, but then we live out here, therefore we would the place look a bit cleaner.  A lot of the time the rubbish we find is from community people, and we know that by the rubbish we find, and we aalways leave a "sign" that tribal people will understand that it was someone from a community that had to pick up their crap.
Kit_E...The saying you could be thinking of is "Leave nothing but footprints and take nothing but photo's".
Regards
Tjupurula

[austastar]

Hi,
   Yep, we sifted out a couple of cartons of cans and bottles from the ash bed of our camp site fireplace some weekends ago. The previous fire must have been hot because some of the glass was melted flat, and the Al was oxidised to the point of crumbling.


Pack it in? Then pack it out!


cheers

[Crockett]

Pack it in? Then pack it out!

cheers

Yep, they carried it in full and enjoyed the contents, so they must have had room for it, and it weighs a lot less when its empty. So no excuse, but lazy

[Andrew_C]

Say you ran a reasonably popular camping area, what politically correct sign do you think may get the message across? Given we have a fairly diverse users from first timers, to blokes weekends etc.
Do you think the $8500 fine or 1 months gaol maximums for aggrevated littering (environment protection act sec 45) on a sign would deter people?

[Bird]

I think we have all seen the rubbish bin somewhere with 20 garbo bags stacked around them, ripped to shreads.

It happens everywhere nobody apparently realises that someone has to clean up that shyte, and they dont wanna be slicing their hands to bits...

I agree with Andrew and see how and why places get closed.

[Symon]

I've never put a bottle in a fire, but I do burn cans.  Actually I only take cans camping for that reason.  If the fire is hot enough the can will burn - leaving no trace.

[Tjupurula]

Say you ran a reasonably popular camping area, what politically correct sign do you think may get the message across? Given we have a fairly diverse users from first timers, to blokes weekends etc.
Do you think the $8500 fine or 1 months gaol maximums for aggrevated littering (environment protection act sec 45) on a sign would deter people?

Why worry about political correctness ?  The people leaving the rubbsih behind are not showing any respect or decency towards others so why give them any.  In my opinion political correctness is a load of garbage itself, treat others as they treat your or the environment.
Tjupurula

[Kit_e_kat9]

Say you ran a reasonably popular camping area, what politically correct sign do you think may get the message across? Given we have a fairly diverse users from first timers, to blokes weekends etc.
Do you think the $8500 fine or 1 months gaol maximums for aggrevated littering (environment protection act sec 45) on a sign would deter people?

I don't know, but let's give it a try.  I've never met anyone who's been charged with littering, dumping maybe, but not littering.  I'm completely over political correctness ... if you are so sensitive ... stop listening to me.   

However we all know it's just part of Responsible Camping and someone needs to enforce the principle in what ever way will work.  It's not only making our campsites ugly and dangerous, but also endangering our native wildlife.  And it needs to stop ... I really believe that.  It's great to know that I'm not the only one that it erks.   

http://www.lnt.org.au/  - Leave No Trace website

Kit_e

[dooguss]

We had the same sort of conversation last week but ours was more to do with people going to the toilet in the bush and being to lazy to dig  a hole to bury toilet paper. Surely it's not that hard to think about the person or family coming in to camp after you.

[GS]

The broken glass is a pain, particularly with kids running around.

Recently went to a lovely camp site but everywhere I looked there was broken glass. Kids had to keep their shoes on all weekend.

[D4D]

The broken glass is a pain, particularly with kids running around.

Recently went to a lovely camp site but everywhere I looked there was broken glass. Kids had to keep their shoes on all weekend.

Not just camp sites. I took my boy up to the park on Sunday morning to find some moron had smashed his stubbies on the playground and mulch

[GS]

Morons....

[Andrew_C]

Aluminium doesn't all burn away, crush it up, put it in a bag and take it home to go in the recycle bin.

 If I can have your address, I will mail you a few garbage bags full of half burned examples!

[r0ssrg]

We go camping at straddie and have had to teach the kids not to walk run through an old camp fire spot.   The twits must figure That it is safe putting it in the fire as no one would be silly enough to walk thru their fire.   

They just don't think about the next campers.

[Burnsy]

Do you think the $8500 fine or 1 months gaol maximums for aggrevated littering (environment protection act sec 45) on a sign would deter people?

Signs don't stop deadbeats, actually hand out a few of those fines and prosecute a few of these people. Use the press it gets to promote why it is important and promote the reasons why it is bad for the environment, not just say it is illegal. 

I am all for our environmental regulators getting off their hands and actually managing dipshytes out of our recreational areas.  Ever since lowluxes went out of fashion and got replaced with hektic 4wd's, to many of these idiots have gotten access to area that were generally only frequented by people with an appreciation of where they are. 

This is can not be done in isolation though, if you want to encourage more people to do the right thing, regulators need to open more areas up and manage them more actively and appropriately along with this.

[Burnsy]

We had the same sort of conversation last week but ours was more to do with people going to the toilet in the bush and being to lazy to dig  a hole to bury toilet paper. Surely it's not that hard to think about the person or family coming in to camp after you.

It really is a worry when people are so stupid that others need to post stuff like this on their site (change the stars to the appropriate letters in your address bar once you have clicked on it)..................

http://wa4wd.net.au/****TING%20IN%20THE%20BUSH.htm

[DannyG]

I agree with everyone about filthy pigs leaving rubbish, in some cases I have seen it is a disgrace.

However I have to put my hand up and confess I have no doubt at some stage put cans and maybe even stubbies in a fire. I wont try and justify it and say it was an area where it wouldnt matter because clearly it does matter.
I dont want to be hypocrite, so being a person who has several times picked up other peoples filth and put it in the bins provided, I will not put a can or bottle in a fire again.

And for the record, just so people dont get the wrong idea of me, I have removed half burnt bottles or cans from the fire when cleaning up and leaving.

[Symon]

Aluminium doesn't all burn away, crush it up, put it in a bag and take it home to go in the recycle bin.

 If I can have your address, I will mail you a few garbage bags full of half burned examples!

Not wanting to start an argument, but if the fire is hot enough they do burn into nothing.  If the fire isn't hot obviously they won't, and if that happens I'll pick them up next morning.

[Beachman]

I do the same as Symon and have been known to burn beer cans sitting around a hot fire with lots of coals. (I never take glass bottles camping as get angry seeing glass in fire pits or along the ground)

If by chance one hadn’t burnt properly, (very rare seeing I only take hardwood to burn) then what is left is removed when I put the fire out.

[BigJules]

I've never put a bottle in a fire, but I do burn cans.  Actually I only take cans camping for that reason.  If the fire is hot enough the can will burn - leaving no trace.

I tried to buy beer in cans for this exact reason, but the big chains don't stock much beer in cas these days, only VB and XXXX. Even if you cannot have a fire and burn them, cans are easier to squash and carry out as rubbish.

[Kit_e_kat9]

http://wa4wd.net.au/****TING%20IN%20THE%20BUSH.htm

That make me laugh, but what he's saying is all Common Sense, and he's right, common sense is a rare commodity these days.  I'll be crawling all over that site in the weeks to come! 

Thanks for posting it.   

Kit_e

[Bird]

I tried to buy beer in cans for this exact reason, but the big chains don't stock much beer in cas these days, only VB and XXXX..

I have noticed this too - well a few of the light/strange beers are in tins.. used to even get Cascade in cans, but no longer.. my old man is visually impared, so cans are safer for him to have a relaxing one on his own..


so UDL's it is.