The Hazards of Trash Pickup

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
forestkeeper
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The Hazards of Trash Pickup

Post by forestkeeper » October 24th, 2014, 6:16 pm

Reading Gene's recent venture to Ramona Falls where he picked up trail garbage and Sean's cleanup work sparked a need to tell everyone to Please Be Careful! when picking up garbage. Trail garbage isn't nearly as bad as camper trash, but always be on the lookout for needles (syringes), condoms, tampons or anything that might have bodily fluids on or in them.

Big thanks to all of you that lend a helping hand with keeping our trails and forests clean!!! Just please be careful and wear gloves. Be safe out there!

Will
Last edited by forestkeeper on October 25th, 2014, 9:50 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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derwoodynck
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Re: The Hazards of Trash Pickup

Post by derwoodynck » October 24th, 2014, 6:49 pm

Good reminder and thanks for all you do out there Will.

mcds
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Re: The Hazards of Trash Pickup

Post by mcds » October 24th, 2014, 8:49 pm

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Last edited by mcds on October 29th, 2014, 11:18 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Splintercat
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Re: The Hazards of Trash Pickup

Post by Splintercat » October 24th, 2014, 8:51 pm

Will, thanks for posting that! One thing I'd add is that if you're anywhere near the Metro area (and especially if there's evidence like the letter you photographed), you can also contact the Metro RID Patrol and report it here:

Metro RID Patrol

The RID patrol is funded by a tiny slice of your monthly garbage bill if you live in the Metro region. It was established when the Arlington landfill was constructed in the early 1990s, and the cost of hauling garbage that far from the region bumped garbage collection rates to a level where illegal dumping became a concern. They regularly fine and/or prosecute people who illegally dump, so it does have a real impact as a very small number of bad actors are responsible for this sort of behavior.

The RID patrol works in partnership with other public agencies -- including Dump Stopper's in Will's part of the region. Together, these organizations do phenomenal work, but they depend on the rest of us to be "eyes on the forest"... so, thanks Will for the reminder that we all need to do our part!

Tom :)

Lumpy
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Re: The Hazards of Trash Pickup

Post by Lumpy » October 24th, 2014, 11:54 pm

I try to encourage folks to take just one piece of trash out with them. If good people don't litter, and then they also grabbed one piece of trash to take out, many places would be perfectly clean in one season.

And in case you are wondering, I grab all the trash I can reasonably carry when out on any trip. It usually weighs next to nothing and leaves the place better than I found it. That's not a brag, it's a principle of mine that my father taught me. I'm glad he did.
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Eric Peterson
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Re: The Hazards of Trash Pickup

Post by Eric Peterson » October 25th, 2014, 4:59 am

Good idea ForestKeeper, I'm also wary of the idea of urban barefoot runners or folks who just use vibram five fingers for in city runs. The potential for putting a syringe in your foot might be super tiny but still...

Your example letter looks like it was dumped after the tweakers probably hit a bunch of unlocked mail boxes?

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weathercrazy
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Re: The Hazards of Trash Pickup

Post by weathercrazy » October 25th, 2014, 6:36 am

Thanks!

Funny about the letter...we found an illegal dump once, and in there was a ton of mail. Had the sheriff deliver it back to them along with a $750 illegal dump ticket. :)

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Koda
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Re: The Hazards of Trash Pickup

Post by Koda » October 25th, 2014, 9:23 am

Eric Peterson wrote: Your example letter looks like it was dumped after the tweakers probably hit a bunch of unlocked mail boxes?
yes, that's exactly what happened. It happened to me about 10 years ago some of my mail was stolen, missed a couple of car payments and couldn't figure out why. Portland police raided a meth lab and found a pile of mail, some of it was mine and my roommates. They look for anything they can use to get money or identity theft. Same for your garbage. Been using a paper shredder and locking mailbox ever since.
lightweight, cheap, strong... pick 2

mcds
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Re: The Hazards of Trash Pickup

Post by mcds » October 25th, 2014, 2:28 pm

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forestkeeper
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Re: The Hazards of Trash Pickup

Post by forestkeeper » October 25th, 2014, 4:38 pm

That envelope was the only piece of mail present in the trash. I turned it in to LEO's last month, therefore it won't be deleted. And being that it is mailed to someone in the Pearl District most likely means that letter was delivered to a locked mailbox, so it wasn't stolen.

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