Tales of Trouble and Trash in the Oregon Woods

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BurnsideBob
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Joined: May 6th, 2014, 3:15 pm
Location: Mount Angel, Oregon

Re: Tales of Trouble and Trash in the Oregon Woods

Post by BurnsideBob » June 18th, 2018, 9:01 pm

Sean, nice to hear from you. And thanks for all the clean up work. Yikes!!! Some of those 'caches' were just disgusting.
I keep making protein shakes but they always turn out like margaritas.

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Sean Thomas
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Joined: February 25th, 2012, 11:33 pm

Re: Tales of Trouble and Trash in the Oregon Woods

Post by Sean Thomas » June 18th, 2018, 9:04 pm

Thanks for all of the thoughtful responses everyone. I feel like there are a few common sentiments and ideas most people share about this issue. Some are very general and some more specific, just to randomly list a few

*produce/use less in general
*properly dispose of what we do use
*free dump fees or at least more, well advertised free days at transfer stations
*cultural and societal shifts
*living in a throw away culture
*road/access issues



I also wonder about people and place and a sort of disaster thinking approach. Maybe if we worried this would impact us more first hand we might be more apt to do something about it.

Limey
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Joined: December 19th, 2012, 2:34 pm

Re: Tales of Trouble and Trash in the Oregon Woods

Post by Limey » June 19th, 2018, 9:20 am

Sean, it is really good to hear from you again. To add a few of my own observations: I have come across a lot of garbage piles in my wanderings. I have noticed that illegal dumping is of course in close proximity to a road. I have actually come across more trash when I've been off trail exploring. I can only assume that they are people who are dispersed camping. I used to think they were hunters but they usually camp by a road and all the hunters I know always clean up their camp. I'm sure there are those that don't. So, I've come to the conclusion that the way off trail sites are there because the people are just too damn lazy to carry their garbage back out and they obviously don't give a crap about the animals and environment. I don't know how this practice can be stopped. People still have illegal camp fires despite all the efforts to educate about fire danger. I don't know how to get people to care when it's so obvious by their actions that they don't.
Thank you so much for all the work you have done.

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Don Nelsen
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Location: Vancouver, WA

Re: Tales of Trouble and Trash in the Oregon Woods

Post by Don Nelsen » June 19th, 2018, 6:42 pm

Sean Thomas wrote:
June 18th, 2018, 9:04 pm
Thanks for all of the thoughtful responses everyone. I feel like there are a few common sentiments and ideas most people share about this issue. Some are very general and some more specific, just to randomly list a few

*produce/use less in general
*properly dispose of what we do use
*free dump fees or at least more, well advertised free days at transfer stations
*cultural and societal shifts
*living in a throw away culture
*road/access issues

I also wonder about people and place and a sort of disaster thinking approach. Maybe if we worried this would impact us more first hand we might be more apt to do something about it.
Sean, I agree with all your points except road/access. To close off access I think is the last resort. Your other points are on the mark, IMO. Also, I think that free dump fees would greatly reduce the problem - good idea. Dump fees are not a problem for most but even $.08/lb. as they are in Clark Co., WA are a problem for many so they just dump where they can. Free days might work and I think that is worth a try. I have seen so many dumps of roof shingles, yard debris, tires etc. I can't even count them. I never return from a hike without something in my pack I've picked up on the trail or at a TH.

I've been to Europe a half dozen times in recent years and I really like how well they orchestrate their recycling. A little confusing for the uninitiated but one gets the hang of it fairly quickly.

Thanks for the thoughts.

dn
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly

"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller

thinair28
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Re: Tales of Trouble and Trash in the Oregon Woods

Post by thinair28 » June 19th, 2018, 9:57 pm

Thank you!
---------------------------------
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Ron Goodwin
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Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: Tales of Trouble and Trash in the Oregon Woods

Post by Ron Goodwin » June 20th, 2018, 10:46 am

Everyone should be required to have garbage service so that would cut down on some of this dumping. Some cities already have this requirement. Everytime I go by a small tire shop with hundreds of tires, where will they end up?

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bobcat
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Re: Tales of Trouble and Trash in the Oregon Woods

Post by bobcat » June 20th, 2018, 3:21 pm

Sean, your magnificent efforts with SOLVE deserve the highest regard. As a solution, education would be part of it although some parents will accuse the schools of "Obamafying" their children (They already do on other issues like renewable energy and sustainability, anyway). However, that only includes families. The problem with free dump days is that a lot of people might just drop their garbage service, not bother to keep track of the free days, and end up taking a lot of trash out into the woods because it's the easiest thing to do. I like the idea of requiring people to have garbage service, but that doesn't take care of the big stuff.

I lived in rural Japan for a time, and they had the same problem: very precise recycling at the curb for household garbage (and Japanese generate a fraction of the garbage we do) but getting rid of large items, e.g. refrigerators, was expensive. Up in the woods, when the kudzu died back in the winter, all these old appliances and TVs would be exposed. Far fewer shotgun shells and beer cans, though.

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