Keep the trail clean!

[Ray J]

We walked the CF last April/May, and were amazed (and dismayed) by the number of tissues people dropped along the trail. I wonder what the trail looked like by the end of the year? We decided that instead of getting sea shells when registering, biodegradable tissues should be handed out instead!

People, it's not that far to the next village! Pack your tissues with you until they can be properly disposed of.

 

[Sheilajg]

It's funny how different perceptions are. I walked a portion of the CF in May 2013 and found that the litter of tissues and other things was a problem, particularly from Sarria on to Santiago. I walked from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago in May/June 2015 and found it very clean with minimal litter. I was really pleased with the improvement. I pick up some litter as I go along, though I draw the line at tissues. Yes, people need to put their tissues into their pockets and/ or bring a small baggie to put used tissues in and carry to the next disposal.

 

[Parisian]

We walked the CF last April/May, and were amazed (and dismayed) by the number of tissues people dropped along the trail. I wonder what the trail looked like by the end of the year? We decided that instead of getting sea shells when registering, biodegradable tissues should be handed out instead!

People, it's not that far to the next village! Pack your tissues with you until they can be properly disposed of.

Thank you Ray for the reminder. I walked a day on the Camino with a Basque man, the CanMan who picked up all the cans. When we parted he was up to 14 and passing other trash bins, looking for a recycle bin. I was humbled because that day, I questioned adding a postage stamp to my postcard. He said, "we are guests in these family's villages and walkways. We shouldn't make a mess." Simple but memorable. Best to a clean and happy Camino. Elin

 

[Mark Lee]

You are probably "preaching to the choir" on this thread on the issue of litter on the Camino. I'll go out on a limb and say I doubt highly that anyone on this forum does that.
Nonetheless, it is a disgusting thing to see it on the Camino.

 

[Kurt5280]

I did the Camino Frances in September and there was a lot of white tissues which are easy to notice...but what bothered me was twice there was brown recognizable scatology right in the middle of the trail...which I could have accidently stepped on if it was not for the smell and flies...if you got to go number two please walk off the trail and cover it with a rock.

 

[CykaUJ]

That's the one thing that has really disappointed me. The Portuguese route is full of rubbish. The ancient burial mounds I went off trail to see yesterday was not just littered with paper rubbish, but with toilets as well. As in someone actually dumped three broken commodes there.

 

[Ray J]

That's the one thing that has really disappointed me. The Portuguese route is full of rubbish. The ancient burial mounds I went off trail to see yesterday was not just littered with paper rubbish, but with toilets as well. As in someone actually dumped three broken commodes there.

Well, that's disappointing as we're doing the Portuguese in May. Did you start in Lisbon? We're thinking of not heading inland but going up along the coast heading west out of Lisbon.

 

[Mark Lee]

I did the Camino Frances in September and there was a lot of white tissues which are easy to notice...but what bothered me was twice there was brown recognizable scatology right in the middle of the trail...which I could have accidently stepped on if it was not for the smell and flies...if you got to go number two please walk off the trail and cover it with a rock.

That really is gross. Don't know why it would be so difficult to get off the path 30 meters or so.
Out of Carrion de los Condes there is a shelter sort of thing where you can stop for a break while walking the meseta. There were disgusting "land mines" around the structure.
To those that have never walked the Camino. It's a really cool thing to do, but just letting you know it ain't no utopia. People are rude and nasty on it just like everywhere else. Still, the good to bad ratio is like 99 to 1.

 

[KiwiBee]

I was really shocked by the amount of rubbish we saw. So many plastic bags just dumped by the wayside.
And the graffiti was a real eye-opener too. So disrespectful.

Who does poos on the path?!
A. I'm pretty sure I could only do poos in an actual toilet, and
B. IMAGINE getting caught doing poos! The chances of someone coming up behind you must be quite high? Mortifying!!

 

[gerardcarey]

IMAGINE getting caught doing poos! The chances of someone coming up behind you must be quite high? Mortifying!![/QUOTE]

I can.
It isn't.
It is.

Regards
Gerard

 

[KiwiBee]

IMAGINE getting caught doing poos! The chances of someone coming up behind you must be quite high? Mortifying!!

I can.
It isn't.
It is.

Regards
Gerard

You speak from experience?!

 

[gerardcarey]

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/jefferson-maker-of-memories.36085/

 

[Kurt5280]

Who does poos on the path?!

The first one I am pretty sure was a local teenager juvenile joke...sort of like the "Oscar Mayer Wiener" style Camino direction arrow juvenile joke...I hope you understand what I am trying to say without saying it...the second was in the Meseta and definitely Pilgrim brand...but in the Meseta I also saw a Pilgrim get into an argument with a shopkeeper...later I reminded him that he may have got the last word today but that shopkeeper will treat the next 1,000 Pilgrims poorly...we are visiting Spain and should leave everyone we meet with a good impression of the Pilgrims.

 

[docpam]

I pick up litter on the trail and dump it in dustbins.

I try very hard not to leave any bodily functions anywhere except in a recognisable place such as a toilet but ... after 4 Caminos I have now realised that I must NEVER eat beans or lentils - it upsets my digestive system and although I try hard not to ... I need to go at the wrong places. For trip no 5 I will carry cheese portions and in the donativo albergues where they usually serve beans or lentils I will take out my cheese and biscuits and leave the beans and lentils behind.

On the last trip, for the 3 times I went off the trail, behind a bush and left something, sorry. I did remove the tissues however.

 

[C3 to Camino]

My husband and I are planning on taking one of our "rest days" to pick up garbage along the Camino. A broom handle with a nail on the end prevents from having to pick up with your hands (yuck!). Alternatively picking some up as we go along as we do when we're hiking.

Does no one bring a small shovel and dig a cat hole to bury their business? That is a regular practice here (although toilet paper does not decompose as quickly as most people seem to think it does -- carry it out!)

 

[dalstonmarra]

I followed a litter picker all the way from SJPDP to Burgos in April 2015.He filled black bin liners then deposited each filled bag at an appropriate place to be picked up. I think he was French and a volunteer, not paid for his good deeds.
I cannot say there was much litter on the route but it was April and early in the season

 

[Mark Lee]

I pick up litter on the trail and dump it in dustbins.

I try very hard not to leave any bodily functions anywhere except in a recognisable place such as a toilet but ... after 4 Caminos I have now realised that I must NEVER eat beans or lentils - it upsets my digestive system and although I try hard not to ... I need to go at the wrong places. For trip no 5 I will carry cheese portions and in the donativo albergues where they usually serve beans or lentils I will take out my cheese and biscuits and leave the beans and lentils behind.

On the last trip, for the 3 times I went off the trail, behind a bush and left something, sorry. I did remove the tissues however.

Yeah, last August-September when I walked the Camino there was a type of plum in season (blackberries, too). Sweet and delicious. They were everywhere. A couple of shops were even giving them away and there were several spots along the Camino where they grew. Anyway, one day I must have eaten about twenty of the things while I was walking. Hmmm, big mistake. Fortunately I found a patch of woods I could duck into.

 

[Tincatinker]

A broom handle with a nail on the end prevents from having to pick up with your hands (yuck!).

The Ditch Pigs ( see https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/camino-ditch-pigs-cleanup-2015.37276/#post-358560 ) tend to use salad tongs or similar. Cheap bamboo ones from the China Stores work as do posher versions; disposable plastic gloves are ok too. A side-by-side twelve bore would probably be very effective in reducing future littering but boss-lady Reb says Pilgrims (even littering pilgrims) are never 'in-season'.

 

[C3 to Camino]

The Ditch Pigs ( see https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/camino-ditch-pigs-cleanup-2015.37276/#post-358560 ) tend to use salad tongs or similar. Cheap bamboo ones from the China Stores work as do posher versions; disposable plastic gloves are ok too. A side-by-side twelve bore would probably be very effective in reducing future littering but boss-lady Reb says Pilgrims (even littering pilgrims) are never 'in-season'.

Oooh - tongs, or chop sticks even. Why didn't I think of that! Thanks!

 

[Anniesantiago]

Sometimes I get so angry I want to put signs of pigs pointing to the nasty paper.

I wish they would hand out notices to pilgrims in SJPP or Roncesvalles to please NOT leave their paper along the trail!

 

[Tincatinker]

There have been some excellent, and occasionally hilarious, threads on the topic(s) of litter, toilet paper, defecation etiquette (gosh that was polite Tt) and similar. Try clicking on the toilet paper tag.

The fact remains that no pilgrim member of this forum would litter or worse, and indeed no pilgrim you will ever meet anywhere on the Caminos or in that funny bar in Bangkok / Jerusalem / Warsaw or New York would behave in such an outrageous fashion either. The Ditch Pigs have long concluded that there exists a special tribe of litter faerie whose sole function is to provide the Ditch Pigs with something to do every December. There are special members of my local community who nip out the night before one of our periodic litter-picks to provide a scattering of beer cans and burger boxes just for us...

While preaching to the choir may have been the only job satisfaction available to the average english parochialist there is scope for the the more liberated among us to do more. The solution is in your hands (which is where it should stay 'til you find a bin). Flaunt your litter-picking, berate the litter scatterers, campaign locally, and practice that that you would preach.

All you need is a bolsa de basura, and some inclination.

 

[2kiwis]

The thought of being caught short and going behind a tree to go and finding someone has been there before you is gross! People pick up dog poo in plastic bags why can't they poo in a plastic bag if the are caught short ,line it with loo paper if you don't want to look at it,tie the bag in a knot and put it in a bin.it might be countryside and seem like the middle of no where ,but it is their countryside and should be respected .We never use to have giadia in New Zealand ,but do now because of tourist trampers in our great outdoors

 

[Kanga]

I'm with you all the way @Tincatinker ! My contribution is a small collection of ziplock plastic bags, with a nice new cotton handkerchief inside each. I hand them out to women pilgrims to encourage them not to leave toilet paper but to use the cotton hanky and rinse it out each night.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Forum members all seem to be on board with a clean trail. The question is how to get the other 97% of pilgrims on board.