CITO why don't you do it?

[+wildchld97]

I'm new to geocaching, but I thought I'd throw a word in here. Lots of the bushes within two miles of my house are home to beer bottles, cans, random pieces of paper, and other such items. Though I have not yet seen any undergarments. I have not yet carried any of it out yet, though I probably will in the future when I can. The important thing to remember is that you don't have to be "all in" or "all out." It can be possible to find a happy medium. Carry out what you can, when you can, but if you're not comfortable touching it then don't. I would rather have you helping a little than not at all.

 

That's exactly what I do when I cache. I really hate seeing ANY garbage (even cigarette butts) when I'm in the middle of some pristine paradise surrounded by nature. I try to carry a bag with me and I'll pick up what I can, but there are some lines that I'll draw when it comes to stuff that even I refuse to mention on a public forum. If the place is really bad, I'll keep it in mind for a CITO event. (I've never held a CITO event, but fortunately I haven't found an area that is seriously in need yet.

 

Yes,there IS a happy medium. lol.

 

Welcome to the world of geocaching!

[knowschad]

Although there is a risk that they would become trash themselves, I'd love to see parks add trash bag dispensers just as they have added poop bag dispensers. I've even come up with a slogan for them, "Remember, the cleanup crew is YOU".

[+Fianccetto]

We don't drop litter, we carry it home (not that we have that much with us) and my kids are pretty good at taking their rubbish out of the car and making sure it gets sorted for recycling too. They're old enough now to help on trips to the recycling centre to deal with our household rubbish. I started to do a lot more CITO in parks with the family about a couple of years ago and after a while it just got annoying for them. It put them off from wanting to go geocaching at all. The children will take part in a larger group effort, like a scout or school litter pick but when it is just the family, they feel too self conscious.

 

I tend not to take home a bag of rubbish every trip because I want to concentrate on the beauty around me, not the trash. About once a month or so I'll visit a local park and pick up what I find. I've noticed that the council have cleared that park of a lot of rubbish since I started and it's a lot better now (I was considering a CITO event for there, but there seemed to be someone living rough in the woods and people were reacting in changes to household rubbish collection and dumping bags there! The council needed to sort that out themselves and I left that kind of trash. I hope it led to prosecutions). It is on a hill, so helium balloons and those paper lanterns end up there, as well as the detritus from teenage 'parties' that seem fashionable now. When I started, there were a lot of bags of dog poo which seem to get flung at the bushes. This seemed to start all around the country at the same time. I haven't seen as many of those returning and I hope they don't. I don't have a dog because I don't want to pick up the dog dirt on walks and walk along with the stinky bag (but if I look after someone's dog, I do it) and like a lot of people, I hate to see dog dirt on or around footpaths (whether in a bag or not.)

[MeffyEllis]

I don't "do" events but have been trash-out-ing for as long as I can remember. Just started actively looking for caches, but I've been hiking in city parks (wooded, swampy, undeveloped ones) for many years. It's a rare walk that I don't find and haul out plenty of garbage. Not many other people seem to bother, but I've never got disapproving looks or anything like that. Bonus: nobody who's seen me wonders why I'm bushwhacking; they can see I have a bag of old bottles and cans and such.

[+jedddog]

I take my mother-in-law caching with me, I cache and she picks up trash, I'm ready to head to the next cache and she's filling her trash bags, not that theres anything wrong with that just step on it please!

[+Presence]

I don't pick up things I would need gloves for a shot to cure cooties. We are generally very good about picking stuff up caching or not. I grew up on an island and nothing p's me off worse then cigarette butts on the ground, heres a place where kids are barefoot and your going to leave that there? grrr. If we have hiked far and I don't have a place to put it I'll leave it but it definitely hurts my feelings. Oh I ALWAYS pick up fishing line it is a sure death for animals

[+JeepFreak81]

I haven't picked up much in the short time I've been caching but that's because I was ill prepared. Gonna grab some small bags to keep in my pack so I can pick up a little bit here and there when we're out. Even picking up one item is a help considering all the trash probably got there one piece at a time.

[+A & J Tooling]

A month's worth of metal collected from Geocaching only. This is stuff I have found near geocaches:

 

 

 

Made $117.

[+Eartha]

A month's worth of metal collected from Geocaching only. This is stuff I have found near geocaches:

 

 

 

Made $117.

 

I love your industriousness, and you are recycling too! Excellent!

[+annejilli]

A month's worth of metal collected from Geocaching only. This is stuff I have found near geocaches:

 

 

 

Made $117.

 

I recycle metal every day and don't get a penny.

Edited October 14, 2011 by annejilli

[+FloridaFour]

Went to my first CITO yesterday, at the beach, it was nice. I do try to cito when I cache, but not religiously...already carry a lot of gear....

[+Dogger77]

I have taken a few newbies caching with me. Dad's with kids, Our first cache was a DNF...but lots of trash, I pulled out my walmart bags and handed them to everyone with me. All I say is if you go in caching you come out with trash. The boys that were with us are 8 and 10...they picked up basic trash, not anything that looks dangerous. You need to help teach, and areas may not clean up that day but the future will continue to clean areas.

We did 8 caches today, one DNF...6 walmart bags and one dog poop bag full of trash....I gave one of the boy a dog poop bag because he saw a bunch of garbage right NEXT to a cache and wanted to get it and I ran out of walmart bags. You don't have to remove everything but any little thing does help.

 

AND...YOU ARE NEVER FORCED TO LITTER...that was just a poor thing to say

 

CITO

Jack

[+Ed_M]

You guys would have died if you saw me strap a "tree freshener" under my nose while pickin' up some creeps colostomy bag in a CITO a couple of years ago.

 

Sorry to reply to a pretty old post, but those bags are prime animal attractants. There's a good chance said 'creep' left the bag in a ziploc, in a trash can, and an animal snagged it. Most ostomates, if prepared to do a bag change in the field, also have ziplocs to put the old one into for disposal. It's not like you can just get rid of the old one and walk out sans bag.

 

You thought cachers were prepared?

 

But, yeah, air freshener -- definitely.

 

EDit: Oh, and I'm a scout leader... I'm constantly picking up trash (and cajoling scouts into doing so) whether caching or not.

Edited December 4, 2011 by Ed_M

[+cerberus1]

You guys would have died if you saw me strap a "tree freshener" under my nose while pickin' up some creeps colostomy bag in a CITO a couple of years ago.

 

Sorry to reply to a pretty old post, but those bags are prime animal attractants. There's a good chance said 'creep' left the bag in a ziploc, in a trash can, and an animal snagged it. Most ostomates, if prepared to do a bag change in the field, also have ziplocs to put the old one into for disposal. It's not like you can just get rid of the old one and walk out sans bag.

 

You thought cachers were prepared?

 

But, yeah, air freshener -- definitely.

 

EDit: Oh, and I'm a scout leader... I'm constantly picking up trash (and cajoling scouts into doing so) whether caching or not.

 

This was in a game lands parking lot, right behind and leaning against the rules/regs sign post. No garbage cans present the 30+ years I've hunted there and the closest home is almost a mile away. Disgusting.

Unfortunately, there's an "adult" store nearby and sometimes customer's novelties are strewn about the lot/woods also. Yuck.

We regularly CITO this lot, as we have a few caches in the game lands and hunt there. Always rubber gloves and plenty of hand sanitizer.

- I still keep an extra freshener in the truck -just in case.

[+Ed_M]

 

Because I couldn't fit the couch in my truck?

[DannyCaffeine]

The only time I skip it is if I don't have a bag or if the trash requires gloves. No way am I touching broken glass or unsanitary items with my bare hands. I don't really care if it is a pop can or something. I like finding scrap metal. If its not too pitted I can grind the rust off and use it to practice welding.

Edited December 10, 2011 by DannyCaffeine

[WashoeZephyr]

I wish all states would enforce a 'deposit' system on aluminum, plastic and glass. Nevada doesn't (as well as many other states). Our disposal company (Waste Management, who owns the world of waste) did give us containers to put our used aluminum and glass into but they want all of it washed before it goes in the containers and they don't give you anything off of your bill for complying (we don't participate, the containers they gave us made nice storage bins in our garage). We recently turned in 4 large garbage bags of crushed cans and I think we got a whopping $5, no signifigant return on plastics or glass. California pays a little better, we live 8 miles away but you need a CA license/ID to participate . It's frustrating. We were up in Canada last year. We took in two bags of bottles/plastic/juice boxes (they recycle juice boxes!) from my inlaws house. We walked out with 50 bucks....and you don't ever see bottles or cans on the side of the road. I would gladly pay an extra $.60 on a 12 pack and get that money back, even if the drunks abandon their bottles, someone will gladly pick it up when it's worth a little.

As far as undies, I too have seen a strangly large number of them in the wild? Do people frequently mess themselves in the woods? I guess if I saw a bear...or um nevermind Anyway, no way am I picking them up!!

[+andyleaves]

Hmmm interesting.

 

Right so am still fairly new to caching. My son and I are putting together a backpack just for caching.

You know things that might come in useful...

 

So raid my fist aid kit for rubber gloves!!!!

Film canisters with plastic bags!!!

 

I will admit that I have come across a cache before and it has been covered with litter of all sorts, at the time I did not CITO, however I did go back a couple of days later when in that same park and took out a whole load...

[Becca76]

Honestly? I care less about the environment. I recycle, and I rarely litter... (I do occasionally but only when I'm forced too) but I refuse to pick up someone else's trash. They made the mess they can clean it up. I have OCD so i'm kind of a germ-a-phobe.

 

I'm not "attacking" - so please don't take it this way - there IS a suggestion at the end of my initial thoughts - I just can't NOT say something here (and you're not a dunce in my eyes ) Ok so - obviously they made the mess and left - saying "they can clean it up" is, IMO, merely a silly way for you to be just as bad as the last guy. After reading more of your posts after your initial comments, I want to add that if you can't help but spill hot coffee on your lap twice a year, perhaps you should consider a dual wall insulated travel mug. Starbucks carries them - I've owned several and really they work wonders when it comes to keeping that precious java hot, and avoiding a spill. $20 for a travel mug is really a small price to pay - one of these days that hot coffee in your lap may harm more than just the environment.

 

To the rest of the contributors to this thread, CITO seems right up my alley I'm not the worlds loudest tree hugger, but as someone else said - an entire trash bag in a film canister - that's INGENIOUS (Edited for the typo whoops!)! I never would have known that would fit, and hey why not? What an excellent way to teach my kids that cleaning up after someone else does nothing but make the world a better, cleaner place!! Someone has to clean it up after all, and if we happen to be there and **happen** to have our little gloves and trash bag on hand - haha might as well just pack it out!

 

I wish more people were environmentally conscious - but I'm happy to be a part of this movement of sorts..."CITO" - one of my new favorite acronyms

Edited December 23, 2011 by Becca76

[diggingest_dogg616]

I've only taken trash bags with me when I'm having a picnic or something of the like. I think now I'm going to get a pill bottle (probably like a 20 or 30 dram one) and put multiple trash bags in it so that way I'll always have one with me. I never thought of that before! I do get rather uptight going out and seeing trash all over the place.

 

Nothing to do with caching, but there isn't a gun range anymore in my town, so there's this spot that everyone goes out to. There is so much trash. I don't even mean trashy things to shoot at, just trash. Like broken bottles and cans, and whatnot. A friend told me someone had enough of it and hauled out like 17 trailer loads of stuff (bottles, cans, appliances, wood, signs, whatever) and within a few months it had all been replaced with more trash. That's the kind of thing that really irritates, when someone spends so much time to clean it up and then everyone goes and trashes it. When my friend and I went out, we brought along some stuff to shoot at, but we picked it up. We picked all of the shells that we obviously ours and I picked up pretty much whatever shells I found.

 

Another time a friend and I were coming back from Natural Bridges. I don't know what happened, but we were both feeling sick, even though we had plenty water and food and electrolytes. I don't know if we got too hot or what. Anyways, I brought a cooler and I have a roll of bags I keep in the cooler. We kept having to pull over because we felt sick. We pulled over at this one spot and there was so much trash we finally had to get one of the bags and pick it up.

 

I'm definitely going to get some pill bottles and some bags though. You don't have pick everything up, and you need to take out a trailer full, but even a little sack full helps.

[jorja12]

Is that really so?? nothing comes in my mind to get some stuffs in the trash it is very dirty, that\s why it was called trashed because it has a various kinds of dirty but there things in the trash can that is useful like the non-biodegradable stuffs.

[+WesKanDen]

Like Ed_M I to am a scout leader and teach the geocaching merit badge, i also encourage my scouts to pick up trash when ever/where ever they are.  I also make CITO containers out of my recycled pill bottles and give them away at CITO events and for the merit badge.  Does anyone have an inexpensive idea for a pill bottle dispenser i could build?  That is the next step in my CITO events is to build an automatic dispenser for the pill bottles. AS far as picking up disgusting items or sharps i carry a glove dispenser on my tott bag ( I was a police office in a former life) or you can carry a zip lock bag with gloves as well as some thicker work gloves in a tott bag.

 

-- History is full of scenarios where a few people did a lot of so many even though they did not cause the problem,  look at any war, any social movement, any election.  Where so few did so much to change the course of history.