Date: Fri, 10 Nov 2000 10:24:35 -0700
Reply-To: Kw <kokopellis@ATT.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Kw <kokopellis@ATT.NET>
Subject: Porta Pottie policy on public lands (No VC)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Years past when the population was lower, public lands seemed endless
and inexhaustible, rivers were free and permits to float them easily
obtainable. Porta potties were commonly used military rocket boxes
lined with trash compactor bags. At the end of a trip, the bags of
waste were deposited in the nearby trash dumpster. Out of sight out of
mind.
The land management agencies have changed policies in the last few
years. No longer are these old rockets boxes acceptable mainly because
the local landfills DO NOT want these bags-O-dung in the waste stream.
(No human excrement in landfills)
The BLM, USFS and other land management agencies (NPS, State parks,
state land managers) require porta potties to be the dumpable type. NO
more bags are allowed and they check on this when you show up.
This issue is happening all over the western US especially high use
areas, rivers and permitted trips like the White Rim bicycle trip.
Surface agencies request that porti potties be used which are emptied at
RV dumps. With the millions of people crawling over public lands in the
west, the days of a shovel TP and a Bic lighter are mostly over.
Anyone ever camp at a place where the previous campers deposited little
surprise "monuments of moments well spent" all over the area. Rodents
tend to dig up these treasures and eat the dung, and spread the TP all
over. (Reason to burn it first).
Anyway, on public lands with remote camping, the management agencies
would like to see porti potties that remove the waste from the area.
There are just too many people out there these days to keep ahead of
natural decomposition of waste and TP especially in arid desert areas
where decomposition may take years for a single piece of TP.
I went on a 4 days canoe trip once where one of our group used a 1
gallon glass mayonnaise jar to carry his personal excrement. He even
cleaned it out for reuse at trips end. Just don't drop it. I think I
would have opted for a plastic jar.
Pack it in, eat it, pack out the dung.
Ken Wyatt
82 westy
SLC, UT
--------------------------------
John Rogers wrote:
But most convenient for me to avoid having to go out into the night is a
sheerock mud bucket, a plastic bag liner
(clipped section)
Cheap, sits at a convenient height, can be emptied by removing the bag
with the contents. I leave it to your own innovation as to how to
dispose of the bag.
