Trash

[bobandshaz]

I was wondering what do you all do about your trash when boondocking. The places we boondocked had trash cans so that was not an issue. I am sure there are places that would not have trash bins. Sorry if this is a silly question just wanted to know what others do and how you handle the issue. Don't want trash stinking up the bays nor animals getting to it making a mess.

Shaz

[homeless]

There are no silly questions! You might consider burning some trash

[bobandshaz]

Thanks for that idea homeless. The only thing that comes to mind with burning would be somehow someway with my luck would start a wildfire. Scaery...

[homeless]

My thought to that is to burn before you have a truck load! Maybe add some trash to your camp fire....

[pagosajoe]

As a guy who has survived a forest fire in Alaska that swept around our home after someone did exactly that, I strongly recommend this doesn't happen.

[John Hilley]

Compact it as much as possible and pack it out.

[Francesca]

Originally Posted by John Hilley

Compact it as much as possible and pack it out.

That's what we do, and we boondock almost exclusively.

Side note per burning trash:
Anything but virgin wood and paper is considered garbage and burning it is prohibited in most jurisdictions even when there are no other restrictions on burning/campfires.

When camped where fires are allowed, I admit to breaking the above rule myself in one respect: before putting empty cans in the haul-out bag, I do toss them in the firepit and burn off the food residue. This to reduce odor/varmint attraction to the trash receptacle.

[Bondad]

Originally Posted by homeless

There are no silly questions! You might consider burning some trash

We always burn a fair amount of trash when boondocking. You just have to be smart about it. We simply add a few pieces at a time to the campfire. We burn paper plates, soda and beer cans, paper wrappers, etc. Just don't put any glass in there because it will break and then you have a hazard. I also try not to burn any plastic or styrofoam because it gives off a nasty odor and I learned as a kid it was "bad" to burn that stuff. I'm not sure if that's actually the case but I avoid it all the same.

We do end up packing some trash home but never too much. Double bag it and toss it into a bay...

[bobandshaz]

DH and I have been discussing this recently. We want to leave mother earth clean and with as little scaring from our visiting her beauty. One thought was to bury biodegradable trash. If we have a campfire use some of the paper cardboard to start our fire. The rest DH thought to place in a trash can we carry 100 yards from the setup. Marked with our name in case Rangers scout around. This way we can toss in cans else where. My concern is wildlife. Don't want to draw them to trash but keep them as safe as possible too. If they should find and get into it yes we would clean up. Just want to be a responsible visitor so others can enjoy what we do and do more harm to the area.