BajaNomad - What to do with Garbage?

What to do with Garbage?

BajaGroundBreaker - 8-9-2018 at 12:40 PM

Hola everyone. What should we do with garbage after our camping trip. I only can figure two options. Burn it or throw it down a well that's a few hundred yards away. I guess we could leave it like the locals, so that's 3 options. Which one do you esteemed members recommend?

John Harper - 8-9-2018 at 12:41 PM

#4 Pack it out with you. Leave No Trace. This should always be your #1 solution!!!!

John

P.S. If you find any guide sticks from bottle rockets, they were left by JZ!!!!

[Edited on 8-9-2018 by John Harper]

BajaGroundBreaker - 8-9-2018 at 12:43 PM

Quote: Originally posted by John Harper

Pack it out with you. Leave No Trace.

John

We don't want that "garbage" smell in our truck.

bajabuddha - 8-9-2018 at 12:45 PM

Where are you camping? How are you camping? Remote back country or on turista beaches? What do you do with trash at home?

John Harper - 8-9-2018 at 12:46 PM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaGroundBreaker

Quote: Originally posted by John Harper

Pack it out with you. Leave No Trace.

John

We don't want that "garbage" smell in our truck.

You gotta be kidding. You can figure it out.

John

BajaGroundBreaker - 8-9-2018 at 12:46 PM

Quote: Originally posted by bajabuddha

Where are you camping? How are you camping? Remote back country or on turista beaches? What do you do with trash at home?

Lots of personal questions. Maybe you have bad intentions.

TMW - 8-9-2018 at 12:47 PM

You can burn the garbage and paper then haul the cans out and drop them off at the first trash can you come to. I know there are those on here that say don't burn trash and I say burning is better than littering.

John Harper - 8-9-2018 at 12:47 PM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaGroundBreaker

Quote: Originally posted by bajabuddha

Where are you camping? How are you camping? Remote back country or on turista beaches? What do you do with trash at home?

Lots of personal questions. Maybe you have bad intentions.

Like not packing out your trash?

John

DanO - 8-9-2018 at 12:50 PM

Troll. Ignore.

BajaGroundBreaker - 8-9-2018 at 12:51 PM

Quote: Originally posted by John Harper

Quote: Originally posted by BajaGroundBreaker

Quote: Originally posted by bajabuddha

Where are you camping? How are you camping? Remote back country or on turista beaches? What do you do with trash at home?

Lots of personal questions. Maybe you have bad intentions.

Like not packing out your trash?

John

I just kind of want to be like the locals. You know, when in Rome? We figure just leave it and somebody else will have to deal with it.

[Edited on 8-9-2018 by BajaGroundBreaker]

JZ - 8-9-2018 at 12:52 PM

We give 200 pesos and a bag of trash to the ranchers.

BajaBlanca - 8-9-2018 at 01:35 PM

JZ had the absolute best idea! Someone will be happy to get some extra cash.

Leave it with any person's trash if it is in a bag.

Ask where the local dump is...sometimes it is very close.

I think this was such a cool thread question.

sancho - 8-9-2018 at 02:02 PM

Quote: Originally posted by TMW

drop them off at the first trash can you come to

Reminds me of a time I put some trash in a can going thru
San Juan de Los Planes, the home owner came out cursing,
probably best to find business dumpster or City placed one.
OP, like your signature

AKgringo - 8-9-2018 at 02:11 PM

Hpefully there is a dumpster near the bridge you live under!

I have used Pemex dumpsters (with permission) more than a couple of times. If it is my garbage, I tip. If I picked up other peoples trash, I tell them "Basura desde la playa', and they usually let me toss it in, sometimes with a thank you!

Bubba - 8-9-2018 at 02:19 PM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaGroundBreaker

Hola everyone. What should we do with garbage after our camping trip. I only can figure two options. Burn it or throw it down a well that's a few hundred yards away. I guess we could leave it like the locals, so that's 3 options. Which one do you esteemed members recommend?

Troll

del mar - 8-9-2018 at 03:20 PM

thats amazing! I've known WG for over 50 years, traveled everywhere on the peninsula, built a house together on willard bay and now we share a home in rosarito.......bajagroundbreaker you say? you must come visit us!

shari - 8-9-2018 at 04:36 PM

I am always amazed at the amount of trash gringos bring down in the form of plastic containers they buy food in. People that stay at our Inn generate more garbage in a day or two than we do in a week or two!
Please think twice about bringing all that trash down here!y

When in Rome ............................

MrBillM - 8-9-2018 at 04:58 PM

............. Or Baja.

Fit in.

Just ask the natives what they do and do the same.

shari - 8-9-2018 at 05:45 PM

Natives pay taxes for garbage pick up...or some just chuck their garbage in an arroyo. Tourists arent natives and should deal with their garbage fairly. Find out where the dump is and take it there or give a family some pesos and use their trash can or buy their gas to take yours to the dump.

woody with a view - 8-9-2018 at 05:57 PM

I marvel at the thought process some genius had to place trash cans along highway 1 in the middle of nowhere with no pick up service planned. And then the dominos begin to fall when the next marooon puts trash in them which the wind and the animals scatter to the surrounding desert.

Use your head. Both of them if necessary!

:?:

[Edited on 8-10-2018 by woody with a view]

woody with a view - 8-9-2018 at 07:33 PM

Minnow=me no?

willardguy - 8-9-2018 at 09:11 PM

I like to think of myself as BajaHeartBreaker :lol:

garbage? burn it.

and don't ever tell JZ he lives in the san fernando valley!

[Edited on 8-10-2018 by willardguy]

bajatrailrider - 8-9-2018 at 09:23 PM

No different then my town they burn the trash at night. We call the cops as the law in town no trash burning. Chief said I cant lock um up for burning trash. Jail cant hold all the towns people.

John Harper - 8-10-2018 at 04:58 AM

Quote: Originally posted by bajatrailrider

Jail cant hold all the towns people.

That's what gallows are for!

John

Ron_Perry - 8-10-2018 at 05:51 AM

For me to address this issue, it helped when I visited the Los Cabos dump site, east of San Jose del Cabo. What a environmental disaster! This dump site server the entire Los Cabos area.
After camping at Nine Palms for three weeks about 8 years ago, I took all my trash to this dump site. I was so shocked it moved me to embrace a change.
First...beer. I only buy Pacifico or Corona bottles, as they are recyclable. I do not drink soda, but when my daughters or family did, it would be in recyclable bottles, no plastic or disposable bottles.
My family eats a good diet, lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, grains, etc. I try to avoid foods from a can.... it is easier that is sounds. All family members are fit and trim....two daughter and my wife.
A strong effort to avoid all plastic and cans goods is not that hard. When camping, I have two garbage cans, one for burnable paper items, one for plastics. I DO burn plastics in a separate fire pit....but I am not sure if this is the right way to go. Better to have in in the air than on the ground? Not sure.
I also learned to leave a campsite cleaner than when you arrived at a very young age. For those who would criticize this approach, so be it...it is not for everyone.
I just spent three weeks camping at La Ventana, had minimal trash, and was shock at how clean the campsite was AND the boat launch was...about 100 yards down from the campsite. This boat launch is used by the local commercial fisherman.
My two cents, Thanks, Ron

BajaMama - 8-10-2018 at 06:39 AM

The bus stops have trash cans. Seriously, leave garbage on the beach to avoid two minutes of trash smell in the back of a pick up. WTF?

BajaBlanca - 8-10-2018 at 06:50 AM

Ron, that is great that it is so clean at La Ventana!

Yes, visiting the dump here in town, the first time, brought me to tears.

For many years, we separated out plastic, washed it all and bagged it. Whenever we went to santa rosalia, we hauled it, they were sending it to China. They stopped abruptly last year. It is so so soooooooooooo hard for me to put plastic into our regular trash.

I heard that if you put a head of lettuce in the dump, with trash piled on top, it takes over 25 years to decompose. How sad is that? We are so lucky that most of La Bocana collects organic waste in buckets which are picked up by pig owners fattening up their porkers. win win

BajaMama - 8-10-2018 at 07:26 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Ron_Perry

For me to address this issue, it helped when I visited the Los Cabos dump site, east of San Jose del Cabo. What a environmental disaster! This dump site server the entire Los Cabos area.
After camping at Nine Palms for three weeks about 8 years ago, I took all my trash to this dump site. I was so shocked it moved me to embrace a change.
First...beer. I only buy Pacifico or Corona bottles, as they are recyclable. I do not drink soda, but when my daughters or family did, it would be in recyclable bottles, no plastic or disposable bottles.
My family eats a good diet, lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, grains, etc. I try to avoid foods from a can.... it is easier that is sounds. All family members are fit and trim....two daughter and my wife.
A strong effort to avoid all plastic and cans goods is not that hard. When camping, I have two garbage cans, one for burnable paper items, one for plastics. I DO burn plastics in a separate fire pit....but I am not sure if this is the right way to go. Better to have in in the air than on the ground? Not sure.
I also learned to leave a campsite cleaner than when you arrived at a very young age. For those who would criticize this approach, so be it...it is not for everyone.
I just spent three weeks camping at La Ventana, had minimal trash, and was shock at how clean the campsite was AND the boat launch was...about 100 yards down from the campsite. This boat launch is used by the local commercial fisherman.
My two cents, Thanks, Ron

If it has a label.... don't eat it.

Bubba - 8-10-2018 at 07:30 AM

What is sad here on the Central Coast is that many of the recycle companies have gone out of business over the past 2-3 yrs. One of the largest and most established closed it's doors unexpectedly last year. The few that remain open have long lines, many people are left no alternative but to throw the plastic, metal etc in the trash or take it to the dump/land fill.

SFandH - 8-10-2018 at 08:18 AM

Up until January of this year, China accepted recyclable trash from countries around the world. Not anymore. It's causing huge problems for recyclers that used to ship the garbage to China. There's no place to get rid of the stuff. Maybe that's why recyclers are closing down.

https://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/recycling/blogs/soon-cant-ship...

[Edited on 8-10-2018 by SFandH]

Somebody else's Problem

MrBillM - 8-10-2018 at 09:05 AM

The whole idea of shipping off stuff to foreign countries with lax controls is a "solution" that's 180 degrees off. Developed countries should be keeping the crap within their own countries where they have legal control over the recycling processes rather than turning their backs.

Years back, watching a drama set in Great Britain, there was a police hunt scene in a HUGE dockside recycling yard filled with many thousands of refrigerators that were being shipped off to China because of "tight" domestic environmental regulations. A scene which could, no doubt, be repeated hundreds (or thousands) of times throughout the developed world.

Bubba - 8-10-2018 at 10:56 AM

Quote: Originally posted by SFandH

Up until January of this year, China accepted recyclable trash from countries around the world. Not anymore. It's causing huge problems for recyclers that used to ship the garbage to China. There's no place to get rid of the stuff. Maybe that's why recyclers are closing down.

https://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/recycling/blogs/soon-cant-ship...

[Edited on 8-10-2018 by SFandH]

I did not know this, good info.

bajaric - 8-10-2018 at 01:37 PM

What do you mean throw it down a well you dirty bastard!! Can't put a trash bag in the back of a pickup for an hour?? OK I get that was a TROLL, but its a good question. For camping, I take everything with me when I leave. Used to burn it, but, eh, all that smoke and everything. I put a trash bag in a 5 gallon bucket. When it gets full zip tie it and put a clean bag in the bucket. Disposal of the trash usually occurs at the next motel we stay at, behind a Pemex, or in one of the trash cans that are provided along the toll road. Any bottles and cans are mixed in, if they have any economic value somewhere along the line someone will find them and recover them for recycling.

Landfills are sort of the universal whipping boy, but to me a properly operated sanitary landfill is a thing of beauty. It is a centralized place where all the trash can go without being spread across the land, the beaches, and the sea. Cheap to operate, safe, and occupying a small footprint. I agree the best thing is to not make all that trash in the first place. But I would rather see it buried locally in a proper landfill than shipped to a 3rd world country so it can end up on THIER beach.

Alm - 8-10-2018 at 02:59 PM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaGroundBreaker

I just kind of want to be like the locals. You know, when in Rome?

I wonder whether you would you want to live like locals as well. And/or have a country trashed up to the limits and beyond. Btw, ancient Romans invented trash collection. "Collect"... doesn't ring any bells? Good Lord...

Alm - 8-10-2018 at 03:05 PM

Quote: Originally posted by bajaric

Can't put a trash bag in the back of a pickup for an hour?? OK I get that was a TROLL,

Maybe it was. Didn't cross my mind. Though, narrow mindedness of (vast majority) of people is not to be underestimated.

Double bags work well for me.

For what it is worth....

AKgringo - 8-10-2018 at 03:11 PM

The OP has been banned, yet this thread lives on!

I am guessing that his (or her) downfall was trolling other threads, instead of just milking this one for what could be stirred up!

Alm - 8-10-2018 at 05:59 PM

I notice 2 kinds of trolls - those with a weird idea of fun, and - don't know how to call them - "professional bloggers", fishing for material to fill their dumb page.

Both kinds start with a post guaranteed to trigger a lot of response, some statement/question either utterly naive or completely wrong. Or - both.

hombre66 - 8-10-2018 at 06:51 PM

All things "troll" aside, My best Baja pal, VW Westy Syncro guy, has a swell device that hooks on to his exterior spare tire called a TRASHEROO. Seems to be critter proof as well. (I cheat and use his) They are so roomy that it helps stoke ones incentive to pack it out.

Paco Facullo - 8-10-2018 at 07:05 PM

Sometimes when Duty calls and I have to use my 5 gal. bucket lined with a tall kitchen trash bag ( with the rim of said bucket lined with pipe insulation, for a comfortable seating experience )

I need to double bag the excreted remains of the delicious food that was consumed the previous day, tacos, chili's and all...

Otherwise a wicked bad smell emanates throughout the surrounding area.
Plus, it has a way of calling any rogue coyote's within a mile of two....

Bubba - 8-11-2018 at 07:20 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Alm

Quote: Originally posted by bajaric

Can't put a trash bag in the back of a pickup for an hour?? OK I get that was a TROLL,

Maybe it was. Didn't cross my mind. Though, narrow mindedness of (vast majority) of people is not to be underestimated.

Double bags work well for me.

Yep, he was a troll but ended up getting some good info here. Back fired, knucklehead.

basautter - 8-11-2018 at 08:07 AM

Burn what you can. Burn cans to clean them out, pick the cans out of the fire and pack them out. Easy and no garbage smell!

Goyo - 8-11-2018 at 09:35 AM

I camp in remote coastal areas for more than a week at a time. Sometimes I go for three weeks. Soon, I will start taking 3-5 week trips. I've always burned my trash each night in my camp fire. This includes plastic wrappers, paper, lemon peels, banana peels, etc. I will put the apple cores and vegetable scraps out over night (away from my camp) so critters can eat them.

I never bring ANY glass into Baja - only cans, which are easy to crush to make smaller. I pack-out all my non-burnables (including cans, aluminum foil, egg shells and dead batteries). I use a lot of re-usable Tupperware type containers for things like oats, cereal, dried fruit, etc. I bring my empty green propane cylinders home because I refill them.

Yes, I'm aware that burning trash is going to upset some folks on this forum. There's always going to be a purist who's even more extreme than another purist. To that, I would say that if you are uptight about burning trash at night, then to be consistent in your environmentalism, you should pack-out your feces instead of burying it. 21 days of human excrement shouldn't be a big deal to bring home ...

Paco Facullo - 8-11-2018 at 10:02 AM

" 21 days of human excrement shouldn't be a big deal to bring home ..."

PooPoo is an organic substance and is a delightful treat for the Coyotes .. YumYummm....

AKgringo - 8-11-2018 at 10:18 AM

And what's with leaving disposable diapers on the beach? You now have paper, plastic and poop to deal with!

I say double up the diaper, duct tape the legs and waist, and the urchin can wear it until they get home again! :light:

(now don't get all serious on me, this post started out as a troll!)

Bubba - 8-11-2018 at 11:28 AM

Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo

And what's with leaving disposable diapers on the beach? You now have paper, plastic and poop to deal with!

I say double up the diaper, duct tape the legs and waist, and the urchin can wear it until they get home again! :light:

(now don't get all serious on me, this post started out as a troll!)

Quick question, who's leaving disposable diapers on the beach? Oh wait, never mind, just figured it out.

Diaper Discarders .........................

MrBillM - 8-11-2018 at 09:01 PM

................. Have already damaged the environment by having a KID.

One of the most destructive social and environmental acts Human Beings commit.

John Harper - 8-12-2018 at 06:11 AM

I picked up and hauled out a couple diapers from the falls above MSR last April. Disgusting. I'm glad I brought some trash bags after seeing the place the year before.

John

SFandH - 8-12-2018 at 08:56 AM

Plastic is a huge problem which for us has just gotten much worse because of China's new policy not to reprocess foreign trash. China was trying to make a go of making new plastic stuff out of old plastic stuff. It didn't work for several reasons. And, now that the average Li Wang is becoming a prolific garbage generator, they have a major headache with their own garbage.

Read about it here: https://tinyurl.com/ybfm5uae

It's a good thing that beer isn't sold in plastic bottles.

Ban single-serving plastic bottles.

Plastic is NOT the Problem

MrBillM - 8-12-2018 at 09:49 AM

People are the problem.

Plastic is Fantastic.

Develop far better recycling processes and adequately enforce harsh laws with stiff fines against those who act irresponsibly. Dedicate the money raised to cleanup programs.

"Education is NOT the answer. FEAR is !

"If you Pollute, we'll take your Loot !"

Skipjack Joe - 8-12-2018 at 10:13 AM

Burning plastic in a campfire is not a good idea. It takes a long time to burn out completely and that black smoke emanating from the plastic is carcinogenic. I've roasted hot dogs in public campfire pits in the Sierras that were completely black due to plastic residues left in the campfire, which burned with the wood we added. If you're going to burn plastic I would do it somewhere far from where anyone camps. Recycling is the way to go but a month's worth of plastic is a lot to haul around.

BornFisher - 8-12-2018 at 10:18 AM

I take mine to Blvd, 2000 and throw it out the window.

del mar - 8-12-2018 at 11:00 AM

Quote: Originally posted by BornFisher

I take mine to Blvd, 2000 and throw it out the window.

surabi - 8-12-2018 at 10:00 PM

Quote: Originally posted by MrBillM

................. Have already damaged the environment by having a KID.

One of the most destructive social and environmental acts Human Beings commit.

In your case, I'd have to agree. Would probably have been best had your parents not reproduced.

Those Like ME ..................... Should be the Goal

MrBillM - 8-13-2018 at 07:00 AM

Having lived a responsible productive life working since teen times, serving in the military and spending my entire working life at a variety of tech careers without (any) government assistance, my contributions are the ideal.

Conservative, ecologically responsible and unhindered by racial bias (other than a normal distrust of those Muslim Crazies), my existence has been a BIG net + for the social fabric.

The only people that I've done harm, including shot (or shot at) deserved it.

If you be like ME, you make the world better.

BajaMama - 8-13-2018 at 07:45 AM

It's just as easy to take the plastic trash either back to the US to recycle or to Santa Rosalia (if they still recycle). Take glass home they don'e recycle in Baja unless deposit bottles.

hermosok123 - 8-13-2018 at 08:30 AM

My father would give us burlap sacks (no plastic in those days) and send us out into the bush or dunes depending. If you could not come back with a half filled sack then you got latrine duty. No we didn't pack out the poop. After breaking camp any poor trash scroungers were not allowed to light off the last of the fire crackers. Final dress was a bamboo rake. To this day a now carry a new fangled metal grass rake for the fine stuff.

When Possible Take More Out .......................

MrBillM - 8-13-2018 at 09:16 AM

................... Than you brought in.

Granted, in isolated areas of Baja that can be a challenge that requires the Bury/Burn choice, but one should maintain control of their own refuse for as long as it's practical. If nothing else, each couple (or few) days of travel, a reasonable disposal point may be encountered.

It's a practice that we've ALWAYS followed.

Even back at home we make a point of recycling everything that qualifies and often clean up after others. When we go out to the desert to shoot on BLM land (an especially dirty area), we take a 30-gallon container which we make sure is filled when we leave. When up at our campground, we haul home our recyclables and spent gas cylinders for eventual proper disposal with the county on their 3rd Saturdays collection.

It takes so little effort that one is justified in holding those in contempt who don't.

Dante's Inferno

Skipjack Joe - 8-13-2018 at 11:10 AM

You can't see this from the highway. I was attracted to it by a very large flock of vultures circling above. It looked much worse that time. Smoke everywhere and flames in that black pit.

Santa Rosalia's waste disposal site:

IMG_0936_nomads.jpg - 240kB

bajaric - 8-13-2018 at 02:31 PM

Cool picture of a burn pit, Skipjack Joe. Many people might be horrified by that, to me it is a nice example of "putting all the trash in one place" in the interest of protecting public health and the rest of environment. Not the greatest design; the bowl design would trap rainwater but bear in mind we are talking third world, if people can get their trash in a can and have it picked up to some centralized landfill major accomplishment.

[Edited on 8-13-2018 by bajaric]

Alm - 8-13-2018 at 02:32 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Bubba

Quick question, who's leaving disposable diapers on the beach?

Locals. Saw a huge pile of them once, traveling in a kayak. Tried to burn, but they don't burn well. Lots of glass too.

And, what pangeros leave behind in any accessible cove, is mind-boggling. Anything from old batteries or a pile of motor oil containers to some old sneakers or flip-flops. 20-25 years ago they began using toilet paper, but the need to burn or pack it out still remains to be discovered.

John Harper - 8-13-2018 at 05:41 PM

Are those vultures sitting along that dirt road to the left?

John

Skipjack Joe - 8-13-2018 at 06:01 PM

Quote: Originally posted by John Harper

Are those vultures sitting along that dirt road to the left?

John

Yep

John Harper - 8-13-2018 at 06:22 PM

They are amazing birds, very social. Take turns eating, watch over each other.

John

A gathering of eagles

AKgringo - 8-13-2018 at 06:32 PM

Quote: Originally posted by John Harper

Are those vultures sitting along that dirt road to the left?

John

Trash Eagles! Eaglus Refusius

[Edited on 8-14-2018 by AKgringo]

motoged - 8-13-2018 at 09:08 PM

One can find 20,000,000 year old shark's teeth and petrified bones in the small box canyon further along that coastal road...west side of road....look for the yellow layers of dirt on the hillsides....