A comprehensive guide to carrying out your waste when hiking
When exploring pristine wilderness areas, responsible waste management is essential to preserve fragile ecosystems. In high-traffic alpine environments like the Main Range in Kosciuszko National Park, carrying out human waste is not just recommended—it’s required. In this article, we walk through our go-to system for managing your waste on the trail.
Burrying vs Carrying Out Your Waste
Before leaving for a trip, it is important to have a plan to manage your waste. You need to consider if you are going into an area where burying your waste is the correct course of action, or whether you need to pack it out. If you are planning on burying your waste, you generally need to be in an environment where the waste will decompose over a quick time frame. In general, this means that there is lots of moisture and organisms in the soil to break down the waste (for example, a forest).
Conversely, alpine or desert environments may not have sufficient organic material in the soil to break down your waste quickly. In these places, it is better to carry it out to preserve the environment. This is also the case in extremely cold environments, such as when ski touring, where it is too cold for the waste to decompose.
Other things to consider are whether there are any National Parks regulations to abide by. Some areas receive such a high volume of visitors that they cannot support widespread burying. It is best to research about the leave no trace rules for the specific parks you are entering.
A prime example of where you need to carry out your waste in Australia is up on the Main Range in Kosciuszko National Park. The fragile alpine environment does not support the quick decomposition of buried waste. This, alongside the large number of daily visitors, means that you are required to carry out all your waste.
In this article we focus on ways to carry out your waste. For information on how to burry your waste, check out our article Practical Methods to Reduce Your Environmental Footprint Whilst Hiking.
Our Recommended System For Carrying Out Your Waste
What You’ll Need:
- A 5-8L dry bag
- 2 scented garbage bag liners
- A large mylar bag
- Several brown paper bags
- Several pieces of biodegradable baking paper (e.g. Glad to be Green)
You will need one brown paper bag and one sheet of baking paper for each time you go to the toilet.
A more readily available alternative to mylar bags is a large zip lock. We prefer to use mylar bags because they are scent proof. However, with all the other layers, the system is largely scent proof anyway so using a zip lock in place of a mylar bag also works well.
The Process:
- Lay the biodegradable baking paper on the ground
- Weigh the baking paper down with rocks if needed
- Do your business on the paper
- Wrap up the waste (including any toilet paper used) in the baking paper
- Place wrapped waste in a brown paper bag
- Place the brown paper bag into the mylar bag
- Place mylar bag inside scented garbage liners
- Store everything in your dry bag
Every time you go to the toilet, you use one sheet of baking paper and one brown paper bag. You can place all your waste in the one mylar bag.
The Advantage Of This System
We really like this approach because it allows you to discard your waste at drop toilets. When you reach a drop toilet, you can open the mylar bag and empty the contents directly into the toilet. Since the brown paper bag and baking paper are biodegradable, they can safely go into the drop toilet. This means you don’t have to carry your waste for your entire journey—just until the next drop toilet.
This is particularly useful in places like the Australian high country as you often pass huts with drop toilets every few days.
Alternative Systems
There are other approaches to carrying out your waste, the most common alternative being a Wag Bag. These are strong, plastic bags designed specifically for human waste. With this system, you can either go to the toilet directly into the bag or pick up your waste afterwards (like you would pick up dog poo). Each bag is one time use. Some people just use the bags, whilst others place the bags in a dry bag or poo tube for extra reassurance that they won’t leak.
This system is much simpler than the method outlined above and requires fewer components. However, the big downside is that you cannot dispose of the Wag Bags in drop toilets.
Depending on the duration of the trip you are doing, as well as the expected frequency of drop toilets, this system could be a better alternative.
Reducing Toilet Paper Use
Another important consideration when going to the toilet in the backcountry is what to do with your toilet paper. Even when burying your waste, toilet paper should always be carried out. As such, we would recommend trying a small portable bidet (such as a Culoclean) rather than using toilet paper. These bidets attach to your water bottle and provide a more hygienic means of cleaning after going to the toilet. Plus, you don’t have to carry out used toilet paper because there is none!
For females, using a wee rag in place of toilet paper after peeing is also a great solution to minimise your toilet paper usage. A wee rags is a small piece of cloth that you can use to wipe with after peeing. The rag is attached to the outside of your pack when not in use. UV exposure will sanitise the rag, and you can wash it when you come across water.
Final Thoughts
Protecting our natural spaces is a responsibility we all share as outdoor enthusiasts. In areas with low soil moisture and limited micro-organisms, burying your waste is not recommended. As such, it is sometimes essential that you carry out your waste to protect these ecosystems. By following the guidelines in this article, you’ll help preserve these special places for future generations of hikers and wildlife alike.
For more information about Leave No Trace, read our article on Practical Ways to Reduce Your Environmental Footprint Whilst Hiking.
