Rubbishing Australia by inconsiderate travellers, who should no better.
My worst memories of previous travel on working hollidays around Aus was the amount of discarded rubbish in designated camp areas, truck pulloffs, truck parks, free camp spots etc, I know councils are to blame in some respect for the infrequent pickup of rubbish but it still dos'nt excuse the blatent discarding of rubbish. Even though most of us do the right thing, we tend to get the blame and our image of the grey nomads is stained by the lazy few. I know you are going to say that the truckies are the worst offenders but they dont park in designated camp areas, so it boils down to the few who dont give a conntinental about other users.
I have oftened thought that we as travellers and nomads should do our bit and at each camp do abit of a cleanup, then inform the nearest council/shire etc that we have filled a number of bags of rubbish at a named camp and could they pick it up.
I can hear the moans and swearing and cursing when reading this, but bottom line is someone has to do it and it could be benificial to our image. We leave a sign behind after clean up "The grey nomads have done their bit, what about you." We may have a positive effect of shaming those who discard rubbish as if it is their right to rubbish Aus.
Councils and shires could come on board to supply gloves, bags, nail sticks etc or we could organise working bees at certain camps, could also be done with the blessing of clean up Aus. It may have been tried before I dont know but if it is the same now as a couple of years ago then I for one will put a effort in to clean up camps aus. what do you reckon ?????? excuse the spelling,
Regards Kev
Sue - Steve Gazel said
02:00 AM Jan 24, 2013
Hi Kev, yes it's just the odd few that rubbish this wonderful land, you can only imagine what there backyard looks like. It's a fact that if there is rubbish around they'll add to it, they just say, "well someone else has dump their rubbish" so can we. Some how those type of people will never change, so yes it does help to pick up a little extra and bin it.
Cheers
jetj said
02:04 AM Jan 24, 2013
Kev,
I think the CMCA are also trying to encourage this by supplying rubbish bags to members, and lots do clean up after others.
No cursing here just disgust that people do leave mess.
Gerty Dancer said
02:19 AM Jan 24, 2013
I have often cleaned up our area upon arrival at free-camps, and carry rubber gloves and rubbish bags for this.
I quit when I found human excreta and toilet paper all over the place though, and we moved on, finding the only clean place was a caravan park.
Whats needed isnt more garbage bins on campgrounds, rest stops etc, but usable toilets!!
Bucko said
02:35 AM Jan 24, 2013
I have also cleaned up camp sites as Gerty has done, again the toilet paper and mess with it, is where I draw the line, the other problem is when you take the rubbish bag with you, full of rubbish, is finding somewhere to put it, a lot of the councils are putting restrictors on the lids of their rubbish bins which make it hard to get a big bag of rubbish in, I tried a tip and was charged to dump it, no wonder we get sick of cleaning up after others, first the kids and now everyone else, Bugger!!
Kevin.
Dougwe said
04:23 AM Jan 24, 2013
Hi way2gokev, Is the photo in your AV in Tassie, I have seen a photo in the same situation and looks the same place, sorry to Digress a little.
way2gokev said
04:46 AM Jan 24, 2013
Hi Doug, No mate not in Tassie, maybe I should put it on the thread Re where is this place. A bottle of pure Tassie water who guesses right.
Getting back to Rubbishing Australia, yea I too try and clean up abit at each camp and I agree for the need for more toilets, I guess that is why so many of us have our own toilets. It is not much cost to put in a long drop, then again it is not much effort to do abit of spade work.
I just think that it creates a bad image that reflects on all of us travellers. I never cart rubbish only my own I usually phone or drop into nearest council and inform them of where I have bagged the rubbish, makes my concious clear and I feel I've done my bit.
regards
Kev
Sue - Steve Gazel said
05:34 AM Jan 24, 2013
Hi all, the only problem with more toilets are those ferals will use them as rubbish bins and if you have ever tried to clean one out that is full of rubbish then you'll understand it's near impossible, you have to just plug it and close it down. Our local parks pit toilets get hit every now and again and it doesn't make the septic man happy and costs twice as much. Education is probably the best with big signs but then we all know what happens to them within a few weeks. Is it a losing battle??? I suppose we can but only try and do our bit.
Thanks
Steve
johnnz said
06:50 PM Jan 24, 2013
I have noticed that with a lot of littering, local teenagers of that area are the offenders, with travelers getting the blame.
Most Nomads (travelers) I have come into contact with do infact respect rest areas etc.
Johnnz
Bucko said
07:15 PM Jan 24, 2013
Johnnz,
You are quite right, I've seen the same at several locations over the years, weekends, with locals, not just teens but Church groups with big bonfires and leaving the rubbish behind when they leave, how can you win? a local group of volunteers came in Monday to do work on the walking tracks, I couldn't help myself, I went and told them who left the rubbish and helped clean it up but we certainly would have got the blame if I hadn't dobbed! where are the rangers during these weekends?, certainly not keeping an eye on what's going on.
Kevin.
jules47 said
09:01 PM Jan 24, 2013
Down at Greens Lake in Victoria - it is in the Camps books - the council are talking about closing the site down, because of the numbers they police, council and firies are called out to incidents there, mostly during peak holiday times - we were in there after a long weekend last year, and the two skips that were supplied were overflowing - rubbish everywhere. Broken chairs, broken toys, punctured air beds, as well as probably hundreds of empty bottles and cans and other household rubbish.
The culprits were mostly locals (from the surrounding area - say 100k), who could have quite easily taken their rubbish home with them. We have members on here who are at Greens now, and spend a lot of time there - they see it all - they also hose out the toilet blocks, if necessary, and rang the council at the time I was talking about - council sent two men in a truck with a roll of fencing wire and some stakes, they made a "compound", picked up all rubbish that wouldn't fit in the skips, and there it stayed until the skip contractors came out later in the week - better than it blowing all round, and animals getting into it.
But why can't people take their rubbish with them - I had prawn shells once, no bin available, so froze them till we got back home!!!
If this keeps happening, more and more sites will be closed down.
Pinto said
09:32 PM Jan 24, 2013
It is so sad to see rubbish and Toilet paper, not to mention what went with it!!...We recently gave our best friend away to a good home as every were we went " No Dogs" But she never made mess like we have seen humans leave!!. Most older people with animals are very fussy and clean up after them. We would have loved to taken her to national Parks ect, but she might have scared?? the locals..LOL... So we are left with Human mess. As you all say, Its not hard to take rubbish with you or a little shovel if you need. No wonder places are under threat of being closed. I do not think its the Nomads doing this at all.... But They will be the ones affected in the long run... So , we just tidy up as best we can, So Sad,.. Wonder what these peoples homes are like!!...
_wombat_ said
10:01 PM Jan 24, 2013
I agree with everything that you guys are saying BUT, me being a wombat I dig a lot of hole's, now I don't mind if you guys fill these hole's in with whatever you like but please make sure I have moved onto another hole first.
way2gokev, don't worry about Dougwe he is always going off topic
Sheba said
10:08 PM Jan 24, 2013
way2gokev wrote:
Hi Doug, No mate not in Tassie, maybe I should put it on the thread Re where is this place. regards
Kev
Looks like Cape York to me. North of the Wenlock.
Cheers,
Sheba.
-- Edited by Sheba on Thursday 24th of January 2013 10:11:21 PM
cannylass said
04:38 AM Jan 25, 2013
A while ago I said the same thing But it was with the back packers they are the worst that I have found. in home hill a few yrs back it was lovely and clean even music in the shower area , then las time we were there it was disgusting back packers parked every where sleeping even on the roof of there cars, the shower are was dirty and I know the council there do there bit to clean it no sooner have they been cleaned in just a few mins its back to what it was, now we give Home hill a miss
way2gokev said
08:12 PM Jan 25, 2013
Spot on Sheba The telegrath track just entering the river of which I cant remember name.
So Sheba you have won yourself a pristine, healthy mineralised, life giveing bottle of Tassie water, sometime in the future we may meet and I can give you your highly prized water.
regards
Kev
_wombat_ said
08:53 PM Jan 25, 2013
way2gokev wrote:
Spot on Sheba The telegrath track just entering the river of which I cant remember name.
So Sheba you have won yourself a pristine, healthy mineralised, life giveing bottle of Tassie water, sometime in the future we may meet and I can give you your highly prized water.
regards
Kev
Kev, there needs to be a prize giving ceremony and pictures taken on the day, I have never seen a pristine, healthy mineralised, life giveing bottle of Tassie water so a close up would be a help.
Rubbishing Australia by inconsiderate travellers, who should no better.
My worst memories of previous travel on working hollidays around Aus was the amount of discarded rubbish in designated camp areas, truck pulloffs, truck parks, free camp spots etc, I know councils are to blame in some respect for the infrequent pickup of rubbish but it still dos'nt excuse the blatent discarding of rubbish. Even though most of us do the right thing, we tend to get the blame and our image of the grey nomads is stained by the lazy few. I know you are going to say that the truckies are the worst offenders but they dont park in designated camp areas, so it boils down to the few who dont give a conntinental about other users.
I have oftened thought that we as travellers and nomads should do our bit and at each camp do abit of a cleanup, then inform the nearest council/shire etc that we have filled a number of bags of rubbish at a named camp and could they pick it up.
I can hear the moans and swearing and cursing when reading this, but bottom line is someone has to do it and it could be benificial to our image. We leave a sign behind after clean up "The grey nomads have done their bit, what about you." We may have a positive effect of shaming those who discard rubbish as if it is their right to rubbish Aus.
Councils and shires could come on board to supply gloves, bags, nail sticks etc or we could organise working bees at certain camps, could also be done with the blessing of clean up Aus. It may have been tried before I dont know but if it is the same now as a couple of years ago then I for one will put a effort in to clean up camps aus. what do you reckon ?????? excuse the spelling,
Regards Kev
Hi Kev, yes it's just the odd few that rubbish this wonderful land, you can only imagine what there backyard looks like. It's a fact that if there is rubbish around they'll add to it, they just say, "well someone else has dump their rubbish" so can we. Some how those type of people will never change, so yes it does help to pick up a little extra and bin it.
Cheers
Kev,
I think the CMCA are also trying to encourage this by supplying rubbish bags to members, and lots do clean up after others.
No cursing here just disgust that people do leave mess.
I quit when I found human excreta and toilet paper all over the place though, and we moved on, finding the only clean place was a caravan park.
Whats needed isnt more garbage bins on campgrounds, rest stops etc, but usable toilets!!
I have also cleaned up camp sites as Gerty has done, again the toilet paper and mess with it, is where I draw the line, the other problem is when you take the rubbish bag with you, full of rubbish, is finding somewhere to put it, a lot of the councils are putting restrictors on the lids of their rubbish bins which make it hard to get a big bag of rubbish in, I tried a tip and was charged to dump it, no wonder we get sick of cleaning up after others, first the kids and now everyone else, Bugger!!
Kevin.
Hi Doug, No mate not in Tassie, maybe I should put it on the thread Re where is this place. A bottle of pure Tassie water who guesses right.
Getting back to Rubbishing Australia, yea I too try and clean up abit at each camp and I agree for the need for more toilets, I guess that is why so many of us have our own toilets. It is not much cost to put in a long drop, then again it is not much effort to do abit of spade work.
I just think that it creates a bad image that reflects on all of us travellers. I never cart rubbish only my own I usually phone or drop into nearest council and inform them of where I have bagged the rubbish, makes my concious clear and I feel I've done my bit.
regards
Kev
Hi all, the only problem with more toilets are those ferals will use them as rubbish bins and if you have ever tried to clean one out that is full of rubbish then you'll understand it's near impossible, you have to just plug it and close it down. Our local parks pit toilets get hit every now and again and it doesn't make the septic man happy and costs twice as much. Education is probably the best with big signs but then we all know what happens to them within a few weeks. Is it a losing battle??? I suppose we can but only try and do our bit.
Thanks
Steve
I have noticed that with a lot of littering, local teenagers of that area are the offenders, with travelers getting the blame.
Most Nomads (travelers) I have come into contact with do infact respect rest areas etc.
Johnnz
Johnnz,
You are quite right, I've seen the same at several locations over the years, weekends, with locals, not just teens but Church groups with big bonfires and leaving the rubbish behind when they leave, how can you win? a local group of volunteers came in Monday to do work on the walking tracks, I couldn't help myself, I went and told them who left the rubbish and helped clean it up but we certainly would have got the blame if I hadn't dobbed! where are the rangers during these weekends?, certainly not keeping an eye on what's going on.
Kevin.
Broken chairs, broken toys, punctured air beds, as well as probably hundreds of empty bottles and cans and other household rubbish.
The culprits were mostly locals (from the surrounding area - say 100k), who could have quite easily taken their rubbish home with them. We have members on here who are at Greens now, and spend a lot of time there - they see it all - they also hose out the toilet blocks, if necessary, and rang the council at the time I was talking about - council sent two men in a truck with a roll of fencing wire and some stakes, they made a "compound", picked up all rubbish that wouldn't fit in the skips, and there it stayed until the skip contractors came out later in the week - better than it blowing all round, and animals getting into it.
But why can't people take their rubbish with them - I had prawn shells once, no bin available, so froze them till we got back home!!!
If this keeps happening, more and more sites will be closed down.
I agree with everything that you guys are saying BUT, me being a wombat I dig a lot of hole's, now I don't mind if you guys fill these hole's in with whatever you like but please make sure I have moved onto another hole first.
way2gokev, don't worry about Dougwe he is always going off topic
-- Edited by Sheba on Thursday 24th of January 2013 10:11:21 PM
Spot on Sheba The telegrath track just entering the river of which I cant remember name.
So Sheba you have won yourself a pristine, healthy mineralised, life giveing bottle of Tassie water, sometime in the future we may meet and I can give you your highly prized water.
regards
Kev
Kev, there needs to be a prize giving ceremony and pictures taken on the day, I have never seen a pristine, healthy mineralised, life giveing bottle of Tassie water so a close up would be a help.
