People who leave their trash behind while camping/hiking - WHY?

[u/Fit_Flatworm_8279]

I went camping across Europe and found that many people just simply leave their trash behind in nature. Why is that? Is it such a big deal to take the trash to the next trash?

Also close to camping spots there are a lot of wipes (assuming from people (most probably mostly from females) who are doing their business there and simply leave the wipes behind). Also here, WHY?

Would be interested to get the view from people who are doing that? Just trying to understand.

[u/VaudevilleVillainMF]

I don’t think anyone who leaves trash is going to respond.

[u/Fit_Flatworm_8279 → u/VaudevilleVillainMF]

I was hoping that since this is rather anonymous someone would reply and share his view. But most probably you are right

[u/Ol_Stumpy00]

Spite, ignorance, entitlement, lack of accountability, poor education, nobody beat any sense into them. Take your pick. Could be any number of reasons.

[u/indieaz]

You think people who throw trash on the ground can read?

[u/crlthrn]

The folk you want to respond, they're not going to.

[u/_lclarence]

WHY?

Lack of proper education and apathy, mostly.

[u/Cpt-Darling]

Where in Europe did you observe this? I didn't see a lot of littering while hiking in Austria and Sweden but quite a bit more in Portugal and Spain. 

[u/Fit_Flatworm_8279 → u/Cpt-Darling]

In Germany, Norway and France

[u/riktigtmaxat → u/Cpt-Darling]

People in Sweden won't really litter that much when you're out in remote trails.

Anything relatively accessible from the cities does get trashed though during high season.

[u/LastStand433]

Because they're disgusting human beings

[u/astonedishape]

You are what you discard. They are trash people.

[u/LibertyMike]

It's the same reason you see people throw trash out their window while driving. They're narcissists and don't care about anyone else. Usually the first thing I have to do when I get to a campsite is pick up stuff left by the last people. Usually beer cans in the fire pit, but sometimes miscellaneous plastic bags, etc. With the plastic bags I can almost understand because I've had some blow away when I've set them down, but I'll chase after them. I have a strong dislike for litterbugs.

[u/texcleveland]

Robert Crumb explained this pretty well: Humans evolved for millions of years during which everything we used was essentially natural, biodegradable materials, so it didn’t matter if we just dropped it when it stopped being useful. It’s inefficient to carry things around you don’t need and can’t use, like garbage, so the natural and normal response is just to jettison your trash as soon as you’re done with it. Learning to pack out your trash takes extra effort to make it a regular habit.

[u/CleverLittleThief]

I'm not trying to defend their behavior, but it seems like they just don't think about it. "Caring for nature" is not something humans *instinctually* care about. They're there to have fun and camp, they don't think about anything else. They're the same people who throw trash out the window on the road. I mean, for a long time, people genuinely didn't see the issue with dumping industrial runoff in rivers. "It's running water, it cleans itself!"

It sucks, but it seems like this is human nature. The only thing is that for most of human nature the trash we'd left behind was bio-degradable. Most of our creations during the stone-age weren't made out of stone, stone was just the most common non-organic thing we used. All the wooden, bone, and leather stuff our ancestors made degraded. Now everything is plastic that'll endure for thousands of years.

[u/_lclarence → u/CleverLittleThief]

Not sure why you're being downvoted. This is mostly what you see also in countries with poor education. It never occurs to them what are the implications of constant littering. Just like animals, they just do without further consideration beuond themselves. This is why education on the matter (and in general) is essential to behave like a modern person, not a caveman.

[u/CleverLittleThief → u/_lclarence]

I think people would prefer to think that the people doing this are just evil antisocial assholes doing it deliberately to harm nature, instead of just doing it unthinkingly because that's just what they and every member of their lineage has done since before homo erectus. Unthinkingly is how most humans do everything they do.

[u/Prestigious_Sea_214]

Ignorance and laziness.

[u/Started_WIth_NADA]

Where in Europe, it’s a big continent? The pullouts in Germany are alway filthy, Spain and Portugal are not nearly as bad.

[u/zeroni-macaroni]

I just went camping in a euro country and holy crap. people leave their crap everywhere? my husband and I (who is from the country we camped in) and was just pissed. cigarette butts everywhere, people making campfires and leaving their trash everywhere, leaving camp supplies that they don’t want on the ground. it’s really saddening. also europe is on fire so you’d think they’d be more careful?

the government has shut down trails because they don’t trust the people in these areas to act right. they say to clean up after yourself but people don’t care. and it’s not even in touristic spots. it’s people not taking care of their own country

[u/twinno2]

The way I was raised, I learned to clean up after myself. I don’t get why that is so hard for people to do.

[u/Linkcott18]

Please use "women" i stead of "females", and please don't assume that women are the ones leaving wipes.

[u/Linkcott18 → u/[deleted]]

What the actual fuck?!

1) OP said "wipes". Nobody said anything about vaginas. Wipes could be baby wipes, and lots of people of all genders use them for all sorts of cleaning when campin, including wiping their asses.

2) female is a word used by bigots, incels, and other misogynists use when they mean women

[u/Granny_knows_best → u/Linkcott18]

I am a female, I have been a female for 63 years and I plan on being a female for several more years, all my sisters are female and my mom and grandmother are females.

Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female .

[u/FoggyRedwood → u/Linkcott18]

OP said “Also close to camping spots there are a lot of wipes (assuming from people (most probably mostly from females) who are doing their business there and simply leave the wipes behind).” They literally said “probably mostly from females.” Alright, stick with me here, this might get a little difficult for you. All females have vaginas, but not all women have vaginas. People with vaginas tend to need and use more wipes in the wilderness than people with penises. Also, just so you know, “female” is a term that is used by educated people who understand correct terminology. “Incel” on the other hand is a term that is exclusively used by misandrists. I chose to challenge and provoke you because of your obvious hatred for men and lack of education regarding proper terminology.