A Guide to WasteLess Camping

A Guide to WasteLess Camping

If you’re currently planning a hiking or camping trip, please take a few minutes to plan it as WasteLess as possible. We’ve created a fillable WasteLess Camping Guide (regular value $15) to help you with that endeavour. It includes a packing list for beginners, although it may also be helpful for avid hikers or campers who wish to reduce their impact. Here you can get it for a donation of your choosing. 

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Here are a few things to reflect on when planning your trip to keep your environmental impact to a minimum.

Table of Contents

Reducing by Packing Your Food & Beverages

A little bit of meal planning can help you save on packaging. Granted, this may not be the most “convenient” option, but as we all know, trash is the price we pay for convenience. So, to reduce your impact, there are a few things to consider.

What not to do:

What not to do:
  • Do not bring single-use items into nature. Prepackaged food, snacks, and beverages are usually conserved in single-use packaging. These items are sometimes left behind or dropped (intentionally or unintentionally) by hikers and campers. For this reason it’s best not to pack them in the first place.
  • Do not throw out your kitchen waste in nature. You may think that your food will decompose in nature, however, what it will likely do before it ever reaches that stage is attract wildlife. Bears and other wildlife that get too close to campsites and hiking trails often get killed to prevent conflict. Hikers and campers who throw food scraps, including banana peels, into nature may be responsible for an animal’s death. So, take the “packing out” component into account when preparing your meal plans.

As for the terminology, I am aware that in official circles (Parks Canada) wildlife gets “destroyed” not “killed.” To me this terminology sounds as if wild animals were “things” which we can dispose of if they inconvenience us. This is a terminology that I cannot get behind. So, remember that our irresponsible actions can result in the killing of an animal, whose territory we enter when we hike and/or camp.

  • Do not store cooking gear in the open or in your tent. Again, the food smells can attract wildlife, putting their lives at risk, if they wander into the campground or onto the trail.
  • Do not wear your sleeping gear while you prepare food. Fabrics capture food smells and may make you smell like a delicious meal to wildlife.

To give you an idea of just how strong a bear’s sense of smell is, let me put it into perspective for you. When compared to that of a human, a silvertip grizzly’s sense of smell is 2,100 times stronger. (Source)

So, what can you do to REDUCE your impact? 

  • Plan it out. You can use our WasteLess Camping Guide to help you prepare your meal plan.
  • You can dry your food and then re-hydrate it with boiling water at the campsite.
  • For shorter trips you can also pre-cook your meals and carry them “as is” or prepare all ingredients that you’ll need to finish your meal without having to pack out any kitchen waste later.
  • Snacks-wise, you can avoid energy bars by buying trail mix in your own containers from bulk stores, such as Bulk Barn (we are not affiliated with Bulk Barn but love their Reusable Container Program).

Reducing when Washing Your Dishes

Washing your dishes “on the go” is not without problems…

  • Even biodegradable camp soaps, such as Dr. Bronner’s, Campsuds, or SeaToSummit must not be used close to rivers and lakes as they can alter the pH of the water and impact ecosystem and wildlife.
  • Washing dishes with commercial sponges can introduce micro plastics into the environment and should be avoided.

Not washing the dishes also comes with problems…

  • Food residues can attract animals.
  • Bacteria can grow on the dishes and make you sick.

So, what can you do to REDUCE your impact? 

  • Wash your dishes with boiling water but without soap. This will kill bacteria and make cleaning easier. Put any dishes that need disinfecting into the hot water for about 2 minutes.
  • Use ash, dirt, bark, or sticks, as “sponge” and throw the resulting grey water into a fire. Do not empty it on the floor to avoid attracting wildlife.
  • If you are using camp soap, use unscented, eco-friendly brands like Dr. Bronner’s, Campsuds, or SeaToSummit, and discard your grey water in a 15-20 cm (6-8”) sump hole, then bury the hole after you’re done.
Nadine Nadow provided some amazing tips on the Trail and Summit’s blog post “How do you wash your backcountry dishes”, which is well worth a read.

Reducing when Selecting Your Gear

If you are committed to hiking, spend the extra time to find high-quality equipment, preferably with lifetime warranty. In the long term, this will pay off. Cheap prices are usually an indication for cheap quality (the reverse is not always true), so whenever possible, spend the extra dollars.

Purchasing Used

Try to find pre-loved equipment or rental equipment before considering a “new” purchase. Great places to look are Craigslist, Kijiji, UsedEverywhere, eBay, the info board at stores such as MEC, and other classified websites.

Rentals

As for rentals, depending on your location, there may be places that rent out camping gear (Google search).

One great alternative is to purchase equipment as a group and have all hikers pitch in to purchasing quality equipment together. One of the hikers could store the equipment and everyone can pick it up at their location when they are going on a trip. This may require a bit of coordination and trust, but that’s what creating a WasteLess society is all about…

Reducing by Staying Safe

Safety may not be something that immediately comes to mind when it comes to environmental impact, however, the both go hand-in-hand.

Do not head out into the “unknown” without proper preparation and do not wander off the designated track. While Search and Rescue operations are run by volunteers who put their lives at risk to save yours, these maneuvers cost British Columbia alone around $4 million per year (source), and comes with an excessively high carbon emissions footprint.

How much? Well, the Sikorsky helicopter which is used in some Search and Rescue operations across the country, burns around 120 gph (gallons per hour) or roughly 450 kg/h (kilograms per hour) of fuel (source) and a simplified calculation puts the number of CO2 emissions in aviation at around 3.15 grams of CO2 per gram of burnt fuel (source). So, in one hour, a helicopter in the air could produce up to 1,400 kg of CO2. To put this into perspective: An average passenger vehicle emits about 4,600 kg of CO2 into the atmosphere every year (source: Natural Resources Canada).

So what can you do to stay safe and REDUCE your impact?

  • Inform a friend or family member where you are going, which trail you are taking, where you will be camping at night, when you will be back, and who you are hiking with. This will greatly help get you found faster if the unforeseeable happens.
  • If you are hiking alone, leave a note in your car (or on your bike) at your starting location with the following details, so potential Search and Rescue Crews can find you faster:
      • Your name
      • The date and time you are heading out
      • Where you are headed
    The date you will be back
When my partner and I were hiking in New Zealand we encountered many hikers who had read our notes and already knew our names before we even introduced ourselves. It works.
  • It’s also important to factor in weather conditions when going on a hike or embarking on a camping trip. In some cases, it may be best to just postpone the hike if the conditions seem dangerous (e.g. thick fog or extreme winds) or have the potential to become dangerous.
  • Never head out on a long hike without a tent, flashlights, and backup food and water if there is a potential that you will not be back before dusk.

Rentals

As for rentals, depending on your location, there may be places that rent out camping gear (Google search).

One great alternative is to purchase equipment as a group and have all hikers pitch in to purchasing quality equipment together. One of the hikers could store the equipment and everyone can pick it up at their location when they are going on a trip. This may require a bit of coordination and trust, but that’s what creating a WasteLess society is all about…

Reducing the Amount of Discards

Safety may not be something that immediately comes to mind when it comes to environmental impact, however, the both go hand-in-hand. Do not head out into the “unknown” without proper preparation and do not wander off the designated track. While Search and Rescue operations are run by volunteers who put their lives at risk to save yours, these maneuvers cost British Columbia alone around $4 million per year (source), and comes with an excessively high carbon emissions footprint. How much? Well, the Sikorsky helicopter which is used in some Search and Rescue operations across the country, burns around 120 gph (gallons per hour) or roughly 450 kg/h (kilograms per hour) of fuel (source) and a simplified calculation puts the number of CO2 emissions in aviation at around 3.15 grams of CO2 per gram of burnt fuel (source). So, in one hour, a helicopter in the air could produce up to 1,400 kg of CO2. To put this into perspective: An average passenger vehicle emits about 4,600 kg of CO2 into the atmosphere every year (source: Natural Resources Canada).

Cans and Plastic Bottles

There is something satisfying about enjoying a cold one after an intense day of hiking and that’s ok. Discarding your bottles and cans in the wilderness, however, is not. You can bring a growler filled at your favourite micro-brewery or if you do bring cans and bottles, at very least pack in what you packed out.

Cigarette Butts

It saddens me that in the 21st century we still need to point this out, but cigarette butts still make up a great percentage of trail trash. If you smoke, please pick up your cigarette butts. Keep in mind that every discarded cigarette butt has the potential to start a wildfire that may kill millions of trees and animals.

Carry a small container, preferably made of metal, that will hold all of your cigarette butts until you’re back home to properly dispose of them.

Snack and Candy Wrappers

While you may think that it’s “just one candy wrapper”, combined they make up a great percentage of trail trash. This can be easily prevented by bringing trail mix snacks, such as mixed nuts in your own, reusable, containers. These can be bought WasteLess in bulk sections of stores, such as Bulk Barn, that allow you to bring your own containers.

We hope these tips and our WasteLess Camping Guide will help you reduce your risk and impact when hiking / camping the great outdoors.

Happy Hiking and Camping

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Donation Total: $15.00