Litter on the Camino

No one here will disagree.
You're preaching to the choir
This is a regular topic.

Camino free of litter would be wonderful! There were bags, free for the taking, at the albergue in Granon that read: "Fill your 'Camino' with experiences and free it from litter." I was happy to do my part at cleaning up the Camino for a day or even a few hours. Another pilgrim along the route after Granon had one of those handy-dandy, long handled picker-uppers whereas I used a glove that could easily be washed at the end of the day.

I put my yellow bag away in Belorado when I had my mid-morning cafe con leche/boccadillo break, thinking I had done my share in cleaning up the Camino. Not so! Because I had been picking up litter for a couple of hours, I found myself noticing it more than ever. It was next to impossible to pass it by. So out came my yellow bag and my glove again. It became my theme for my Camino for two days. It was quasi upper-body exercise and I met people who were following me.

On the other hand, litter was hard to find on the Caminos del Norte and Primitivo - less graffiti too.

Petra K said:

Hello all pilgrims. As we are all humans who seek some kind of enlightenment as we choose to walk the Camino, I hope to convince you that a clean experience is the right way to go. In order of importance for me:

1) under no circumstances leave pieces of toilet paper on any part of the Camino - if you really need to use it, have a plastic bag to put it in. Flush it at the next opportunity.

2) anything you take onto the Camino: paper, plastic, bottles, cigarette butts and even banana peels and other food waste should be properly disposed of in the appropriate container in a town.

3) if a litter container on the Camino is full, do not add more litter. Take it with you.

My dream is of a litter free Camino! Can you agree? If so, please pass this message on.

Click to expand...

Hi, Petra, and a warm welcome to the Forum. I saw your nice message while sitting here at the airport waiting to catch my flight to Camino

You are among a group of folks who share your great message, and support your goal in passing that message along. You will be heartened to know that there have been many discussions that talk about your vision. They can which can be found by using the search function at the top right side of the page.

I try not to complain about the litter. I just pick up when I can. Much more fulfilling.

Those that litter on the Camino as well as do criminal graffiti damage to signs, posts etc are in all likelihood not members of this forum or frequent visitors to this forum.