Log in
Register
UI.X
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
UI.X
Forums
New posts
Search forums
Tag Topics
Online Guide
Camino Francés
Camino Portugués
Camino del Norte
Via de la Plata
Camino Primitivo
Camino de Invierno
Camino to Finisterre and Muxía
Camino Ingles
Camino de San Salvador
San Olav
Caminho Nascente
Caminho da Geira e dos Arreiros
Camino Olvidado
Camino Aragonés
Camino de Levante
Via Podiensis (Le Puy Route)
Camino de Madrid
Services by Casa Ivar in Santiago
Luggage Storage Services in Santiago de Compostela
Camino Forum Store
Official Camino Passport (Credential)
Altus Poncho
Forum Rules
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Resources
Latest reviews
Search resources
Members
Current visitors
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
Menu
Install the app
Install
⚠️ Emergency contact in Spain - Dial 112 and AlertCops app.
More on this here
.
Get your
Camino Frances Guidebook
here.
Forums
Camino Routes
🇪🇸 Routes in Spain
🇪🇸 Camino FRANCÉS (Most popular route)
Toilet paper, litter and graffiti
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
[QUOTE="Rebekah Scott, post: 1192321, member: 271"] The camino is a miracle of chaos flowing into grace. No one's in charge, and the people who live here aren't about to take instruction from foreigners. For a thousand years, pilgrims have done their business along the road, and the locals and fellow pilgrims have had to deal with it -- or not. I've been cleaning up the trail for 15 years, and I've seen the changes in what waste is left behind by pilgrims. Inevitably, the rise in pilgrim numbers means a rise in pilgrim leavings. Surprisingly, there are MUCH fewer bottles and food wrappers than ever, as people are aware that littering isn't cool ... but the overwhelming majority of the waste is not litter. It is toilet paper and tissues. Pilgrims used to know how to relieve themselves in the woods without leaving a paper trail. Pilgrims were outdoors people. Nowadays, with the pilgrimage going up-market, more hikers are indoor people who never learned to wee without a meter of toilet paper and a flush handle. They don't know how to "leave no trace." They don't know this is even a problem. They maybe paid someone to book their rooms and carry their bags and show them the way, so posters in albergues and lectures at the pilgrim office won't reach them. Telling someone how to pee or poo outside isn't exactly friendly trailside conversation. Maybe it should be. Human waste, and toilet paper, are biodegradable after a while. (This cannot be said for "wet wipes," which last for eternity... a product straight from Hell.) Maybe the ever-tolerant "Walk Your Own Camino" people so upset by waste on the Way need to just learn to live with this expression of personal freedom, too. Millions of past pilgrims had to put up with it. Maybe we should just suck it up and live with it, too. Unless we're willing to stop shouting/whining/analyzing/posting photos/ and take on the job ourselves. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
❓How to ask a question
How to post a new question
on the Camino Forum.
Latest posts
LIVE from the Camino
Starting in Bilbao - a six week Camino
Latest: MilenaS
1 minute ago
🇪🇸 Camino del NORTE (from Irún)
The Pilgrim’s Guide to Etiquette
Latest: Bradypus
4 minutes ago
Life on the Camino - Miscellaneous Topics
Compostella: Electric Bikes Excluded?
Latest: trecile
4 minutes ago
🚴♀️ Bicycling on the Camino
Small juicer, vegetarians and heating element?
Latest: trecile
8 minutes ago
🥾 Equipment and Clothes
Stages from Oloron-Sainte-Marie
Latest: trecile
11 minutes ago
🇪🇸 Camino ARAGONÉS (Somport - Pte la Reina)
This site is run by Ivar at
in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon
Official Camino Passport (Credential)
|
2024 Camino Guides
Check out our
Online Guide for the Camino Francés
here.