+New England n00b Posted September 14, 2003 Share Posted September 14, 2003 Well, I'd like to pick up trash along the way, but I don't want to make a big event out of it. I can't see carrying a 30gal trashbag with me. What do you guys use? --------------------- Don't hurt me. I'm new here. Quote Link to comment
+Brenin Tegeingl Posted September 14, 2003 Share Posted September 14, 2003 I personaly use a plastic carrier bag from a suppermarket. Fill it up to about the 3/4 level, and then tie it up. I figure if every one does the same, trash in areas will soon be collected. This is allso easy to carry out for disposal. Mancunian Pyrocacher. I burn to cache! Quote Link to comment
+hoovman Posted September 14, 2003 Share Posted September 14, 2003 Ditto on plastic grocery bags. Stuff a couple in my pocket on the way out and I'm all set. Quote Link to comment
+Rubeeslpr Posted September 14, 2003 Share Posted September 14, 2003 We also use plastic grocery bags. Space permitting, we also leave an extra in a film cannister in the cache with instructions to CITO. Quote Link to comment
+New England n00b Posted September 14, 2003 Author Share Posted September 14, 2003 Hmmm, grocery store bags. Small, light... and cheap! Just my style! Or reality, anyway :I *sigh* I like the trash bag in a film canister idea - If I create a cache soon, I'll put a few in there for people to take. Good idea Rubeeslpr! --------------------- Don't hurt me. I'm new here. Quote Link to comment
+Rubeeslpr Posted September 14, 2003 Share Posted September 14, 2003 Thanks for the kudos, but it was an idea I found myself on this board a while back. I printed up address labels with the geocaching.com logo, and added "use this bag to trash out. Then replace the bag, and place this container into another cache you visit," Quote Link to comment
ardfarkle Posted September 16, 2003 Share Posted September 16, 2003 I am new to Geocaching and have yet to log my first cache, but I do quite often collect and haul out trash on hikes. I use plastic grocery bags also. I individually vacuum pack them so the are about 2" x 2" square, and about 1/4" thick at their thickest point. This makes it easy to stash them almost anywhere, and they're waterproof too. I vacuum pack many of the items in my packs to compact them and to provide protection from the elements. In the image above, the AA batteries are protected from moisture and will not leak onto other objects if their seals should fail when stored. The pack in the upper right is the trash bag and the one at the bottom is 10ft of MD TP. It's 3/16"-1/4" thick also... Quote Link to comment
+New England n00b Posted September 16, 2003 Author Share Posted September 16, 2003 Interesting... Can you recommend a vacuum packing machine & it's cost? I'm goign hiking next year, and this idea could prove useful... --------------------- Don't hurt me. I'm new here. Quote Link to comment
ardfarkle Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 I've been using an older top of the line "FoodSaver" by Tilia (similar to the new Professional II at ~$270.00 U.S.). It belongs to a friend, and it screwed up about 6 years ago. I repaired it for him and said I'd keep it in good shape if I could use it whenever I wanted. He said yes. Recently I was buying some bags for it at my local Walmart when I noticed a new unit by Black & Decker called the Freshguard VN-200. It was only $58.99 so I was skeptical at first, but it had a real vacuum pump (some use a turbine - stay away) and they showed a picture where it crushes 6 soda cans in a bag. I know this takes a vacuum of at least several inches of mercury, so I decided to give it a try. To my delight, it seemed to compress things every bit as well as my friends Tilia did, and now I would not need to borrow it when I wanted to pack up a few items. I've had it for about a month now, have packed several hundred items, and it seems to be just what I was looking for. Unfortunately, a month is not enough to comment on the mechanical longevity of it's design, but it comes with a 1 year limited warranty so we shall see. As good as it seems to be for the money, there are a few cons.. Pros: Costs less than $60.00 Uses a real vacuum pump Has enough vacuum to tightly compress items and form the bag around complex shapes Has a removable liquid catching tray for easy cleanup (meats, etc.) Has a port for canisters and will use the Tilia mason jar sealer Works with most other brands of vacuum bags (Tilia FoodSaver bags work great) Mine came with a 'bonus' 11" x 18' roll of bags (~$10.00 at Walmart) Cons: Takes 2-3 times as long to pack and seal an item as the top end Tilia Requires constant hand pressure during sealing process (ie, no lid lock) Runs vacuum pump when just making a bag (ie, sealing the cut bag, or custom sizes) Uses wire verses band sealer. This yields a narrow seal (1/32"-1/16") Works better with Tilia bags than its own (see below) Vacuum chamber is farther from sealer wire than I'd like (wastes ~3/8" of bag for each seal) Rounded shape of front lid disallows sealing close to thick objects (another ~3/8") Has no internal roll storage or built in bag cutter Putting the cons aside, the VS-200 seems to be an excellent value and most of the cons are more my personal complaints than things that will affect the overall operation of the unit. However, there is one exception to this that should be mentioned. The bags that were supplied with the unit are 3 ply bags with 2 outer plies of smooth sheeting and internal textured strips that only extend inward a few inches on either side of the bag, whereas the Tilia 'FoodSaver' bags are 2 ply where 1 ply is smooth and the other is textured. This means most of the bag area on the Black & Decker bags are just 2 ply consisting of the 2 outer smooth sheets. While this should not be a problem in many cases, I found the bags difficult to seal properly if I was doing a tight seal directly against the contents. I'm not sure if it's the lid deforming a bit or for some other reason, but these bags work best when you allow a bit of flat area between the lid and the contents. In addition, cutting the bags to make smaller sizes is difficult since you always need to have a percentage of textured bag to allow the air to be removed properly. One more note: The instructions say to apply pressure on the lid until the light goes constant green. I've found the best and most consistent seal is achieved by holding pressure on the lid for 3-4 seconds after the light goes green. This appears to be the same for either bag type, but is essential IMO for the Black & Decker bags to obtain a good seal. I've ordered another bag type that sells sells for $20.00 for 3 - 11" x 33' rolls. If these work well it will reduce bag prices by about 50% after shipping costs. [This message was edited by ardfarkle on September 18, 2003 at 07:36 AM.] Quote Link to comment
+devbrain Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 Plastic carrier bag for me, too. I roll them up small, and wrap them with an elastic band. (I'd use film canisters, but I gave up film years ago!). I also have plans to make little plastic sleeves (like you sometimes get around napkins) with a cache-in-trash-out logo ... might be a little nicer than just writing that on the edge of the band when I leave a spare bag behind in a cache. I love the idea of that vacuum packed bag. It's probably a lot more compact than I can roll them by hand. Quote Link to comment
ChiefPig Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 ardfarkle: Nice consumer review Have you considered submitting that review to Consumer Reports or something??? Quote Link to comment
+Rubeeslpr Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 I roll them up small, and wrap them with an elastic band. (I'd use film canisters, but I gave up film years ago!). Any Walgreens or WalMart will give you hundreds of empty film canisters just for the asking. Quote Link to comment
+CT A-Team Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 We have been hauling out trash since our first find. I use a white tall kitchen bag tucked under my belt. We have been known to fill it to the brim. What bothers me is that at some geocache meets I notice that my team seems to be the only ones doing it. We use these trails and parks for our sport. I think we should ALL help keep them the way we want to find them. Walt Quote Link to comment
+DustyJacket Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 I used to use the plastic grocery bags. But they kept breaking. So when I got to the point I was triple-bagging, I bout a box of the geocaching.com CITO bags. Now when I fill them, I try to put them in trash containers or trash collection spots with the COTI logo showing. i keep thinking this will make park rangers want us to visit more often. Today, I filled 2 bags. Found broken sporting clays and shotgun wads which caught my attention....... DustyJacket Not all those that wander are lost. But in my case... Quote Link to comment
2oldhikers Posted October 12, 2003 Share Posted October 12, 2003 We hunt, fish, camp and hike and manage to pick up trash wherever we go. Now, we have officially found our first cache, and also carried trash out with us. I like the rolled up trash bag in a cache idea, and will use it when we put out first cache together! Quote Link to comment
+Hiemdahl Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 If anyone is looking for a source of 35MM film cannisters, you can stop by the local Eckards or any other place that develops film onsite, they will usually be glad to give you a double or triple handfull. No questions ask. I wrap and tape the CITO labels that I printed out to the cannisters. Always keep a few in my pack. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.