Mandatory carry-out rules and tools at high-impact sites
#00094
In heavily used or fragile areas, require visitors to pack out all waste — including human waste — and provide the means (issued pack-out kits, locking trailhead bins), turning the Leave No Trace ethic into an enforced condition of access.
Parent issue
#00079 Litter in trails, parks and backcountry where no one is paid to collect it
Sustainable Development Goals
Location
Description
Mechanism
At specific high-use or ecologically fragile sites, make carrying out waste a requirement rather than an ethic: mandate pack-out of all trash and, where appropriate, human waste, and supply the means — issued pack-out kits or "blue/wag bags", dispensers, and secure trailhead bins — sometimes tied to a permit. This closes the gap left by voluntary norms in places that cannot absorb even small non-compliance.
Where it fits
A site-specific intensification of the wilderness/trails approach for the worst-affected locations (popular peaks, river corridors, sensitive alpine zones), complementing broader Leave No Trace education.
Operating profile and limits
Effective where enforced and where the means are genuinely provided, but it depends on permits, staffing, and supplies, so it scales only to designated sites rather than whole wild areas. Compliance hinges on making the required behaviour easy (dispensers, disposal points) and on visitor buy-in.
Sub-issues
0Case studies
2