Keep Bin Bags In Your Hiking Backpack
A folded bin bag weighs nothing and turns every walk into an opportunity you didn't have to plan for.
- Cost
- Under £20pp
- Time
- Under 15 min
- People
- Solo / Duo, Small Group (3-6), Large Group (7+)
- Where
- Park / Outdoor
- Bring
- Nothing in particular
Why this matters
Most litter in wild places is picked up by whoever happens to walk past with a way to carry it. The barrier is almost never willingness - it's not having anything to put it in. Keeping a couple of folded bags permanently in your pack removes the only real obstacle, and turns every hike you were doing anyway into a small cleanup.
How to do it
This is less an activity than a small permanent setup that makes a dozen other activities possible.
Buy a roll of small, sturdy bin bags. Put two or three in every hiking backpack, day bag and car boot in the house. Add a pair of cheap gloves if you have them. That's it - it's done, and it stays done.
Then, whenever you're out walking, you have the option. You don't have to commit to a cleanup, plan anything, or make it the point of the trip. You just pick things up when you pass them.
Worth doing as a group: - Buy a pack and hand them out to everyone you hike with. It costs almost nothing and quietly changes the default for a whole group of people. - If several of you carry them, an ordinary walk can turn into a real cleanup on the spot with no organising.
Practical notes: - Small bags are better than big ones. A huge bag stays empty because you're waiting to justify it. - Leave anything sharp, medical or hazardous - note the location and report it instead. - Take it home if there's no bin. A full bag left by a trailhead is somebody else's problem.