Ideal time to resolve the issue of who is leaving the filth in rest stops?

[Me]

I'm bored & was wondering if now that international back packers aren't being allowed into the country for a while due to the Covid 19 pandemic, it could be a good time to resolve the old argument over who is responsible for the filth that gets left behind in rest stops by free campers?

Is it back packers, or home grown travellers? Or both?

I'm stuck & can't travel ATM, but now that the Qld, SA & NT borders are open, clearly lots are travelling within Aust. So if anyone travelling the black top in outback areas could comment on what they're seeing out there, that would be great! (I don't usually see this filthy behaviour on the long dirt roads for some reason)

And a massive call out to our fellow Aussies in lock down at the moment! I really feel for you all. Wishing you all a very speedy & healthy exit from lock down.

[Hairs]

I would think, hope that most do the right thing, but the amount of waste is substantial. Not only at stops, but just along the side of the road.
Heading to Grafton from Lawrence this morning, the fast food mobs packaging on the side of the road just before Lawrence is disgusting.
When we have traveled, if the bin/s were full we took our crap with us.
Some just don't care

[xcvator]

I think the worst that I've ever seen anywhere was for about 1.5 klm's either side of the Erldunda Roadhouse, literally truck loads of rubbish just thrown out of windows while people were driving along   

[BBull]

You only had to look at the amount of rubbish left at Ayres Rock before the climb closed. Sad to say but it is us who are doing all this dumping.
I always try to leave a place better than it was on arrival.

[elver]

After seeing my favourite place (a point by the ocean on the south coast) trashed with unburied turds, wet wipe and rubbish I talked to some of the van campers each day over a week on my sunrise walks.
Every one was a 20 something bloke with mates, or his shiela.  None knew where the toilets were (300m away) and each said they picked up the rubbish.
Every day there was more rubbish after I picked it up.  Some stayed in the car park for3 days with carpets, pillows and all the Instagram crap, and still shat on the ground! (It’s a no camping place in case your wondering)

Not a backpacker or international in site.

Sadly it’s all us - and mostly kids we haven’t taught how to behave.


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[glenm64]

The worst place I see it is a spot thats not visited by backpackers etc.
Its always marred by crap, literal and metaphorically. The worst offenders are the locals too.
I normally pick up at least 1 or 2 bags of rubbish. There was a old fella that lived there in a van and he used to move along the dam cleaning up each area around his camp for a few months at a time. The rangers must have moved him along as he was doing too good a job. 

[Wazza999]

Lots of poo tickets at rest areas and free camps on the Uluru-Meernie Loop, but the worst I've seen would have to have been Gintys Lookout on the Loop. Bags of rubbish, dirty nappies all over the place, even tossed over the edge. A magic spot soiled appallingly. Mind you I haven't ventured into the bushes at some spots to find the squishy stinking messes left behind. Always thus though, I can remember camping at Thornton Beach at the mouth of Coopers Ck in the Daintree in the 70's and you had to watch where you walked. With respect to Erldunda, in the Territory you used to be able to tell when you were a can away from a roadhouse by the empties on the other side of the road. I thought when I was there last year it had improved, perhaps it was just after a big clean up. So I think there are grubs in all segments of society.

2011 NT Pajero; 2007 Goldstream Crown 4B

[Troopy_03]

There's definitely a lot less crap being left on Stockton Beach, NSW, since they banned camping on it. It used to be, after every long weekend, there were piles of garbage left all along the beach, and turds and paper left behind the dunes, with not even an attempt to bury it.

I got sick of going there for a while, and when we did venture there, mainly my mrs would always fill the back of the 4WD with bags of rubbish, I wasn't so keen though after quite a few bags leaked stinking juice in the back.

They don't have a skip bin on the entry tracks, and after you collected all this crap you had to find a close enough skip bin to dump it in. And that wasn't easy, because at shops etc they don't want you filling skip bins with other peoples crap. I asked a ranger about it one day, he hand balled us to the council, who's reply was "If we put skip bins there, all the local will just fill it with home rubbish" One ranger did say we could put the bags on the back or their vehicle, if they were there. But they usually just speed past you anyway.

Pisses me off that I can't camp there any more, but they had to do something to try and stop the rubbish piles.

[gronk]

Walked thru the local playground this arvo....there's a low sandstone block wall you can sit on while watching your ferals play.....and there was approx 5 cups (Maccas maybe ) and a few burger wrappers sitting on the wall. No kids in sight, but the 2 rubbish bins were approx 10 to 15 steps away.

Kids are not taught to be grubs, but they are certainly not taught not to be !!

[Me]

Thanks for your replies everyone! 

I think that the jury is in!

I've read that the major camping areas along Googs track had filth everywhere during the recent school holidays. Not a back packer in sight lol.

Once again, a big shout to everyone in a covid 19 hot spot. I hope that you're all keeping well & that you're out of lock down soon. Take care!

[Muckinhell]

its not only the hot spots that sufffer, i used to work for a sugar mill on the farms and the farms that were close to the highway every once and while down between the blocks of cane there was rubbish strewn all over the place,prob left in a bag but the animals got to it, i was on the odd occasion filling my ute with this stuff and a lot of it was the really weird asian style noodle packets and other odd asian foods, this is pre covid as dont work there anymore, and of course fast food packets etc as the farsm were just outside a major town.