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Geocashing=fantastic, but please....no plastic!


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Geocaching is a fantastic idea, and CITO also, but what's the point of Geocashing if it means plastics are being deposited in locations it's never been seen in before, and CITO is a great initiative also....but what if the CI is plastic, and ends up being lost or forgotten about...and ends up being blown/dragged or pulled into the surrounding area....and then I (and a few of the locals) end up having to go and try to retrieve it - or worse, a wild animal finds it, manages to chew it's way into it and chokes, or worse gets impaled on a badge pin and dies a very slow agonised death??!!

Edited by Keystone
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You are welcome to edit your post any time over the next 24 hours.

 

In passing, I will note that in the past 13 years when I've been an active participant in these forums, reports of animals being impaled on badge pins have not been an issue. Unless, of course, one counts hamsters.

Edited by Keystone
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Well since the point of a geocache is for the container to stay there and not go away, a material such as plastic that won't degrade (or at least for a long time) that is also low cost, water proof, and readily available would be an ideal material.

 

While you may think it's a bad thing, since the point is for it to last, it is no more bad than a house, car, road, or fence. Of course with all of those, and geocaching, people do abandon those to the environment. This is true of anything at all on the planet.

 

As for animals, well that is up to us as individuals. The guidelines, are there that recommend animal resistant containers, with no food, or anything scented placed in them. Again people will still put that stuff in, but that is true of lots of other things as well. People feeding animals, that eventually get brave and start eating out of garbage is an example.

 

I guess what I'm saying is that geocaching, when done properly has less impact that many, many other activities. Even when you consider the people that don't care, it's still no worse than, well, almost anything else.

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I'm not sure what we're supposed to use instead of plastic containers. It seems like you want us to use bio-degradable containers, but that very property of the material would make it unsuitable for remaining out in the wild for any length of time, defeating the whole purpose of geocaching.

 

Anyway, in my experience, the occasional abandoned plastic box left behind by this game pales in comparison to the garbage I've encountered while out geocaching. If I could take all the non-geocaching garbage I've encountered while geocaching and put it all in one place, there'd be a veritable mountain of trash.

 

Also, apparently some animals enjoy the taste of plastic:

07d27ef5-c66d-430f-a094-09ec3395ca89.jpg 0f978f2f-c4f8-4f98-8374-73e253177e32.jpg

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Hi,

 

I've no idea what happened there, but I was in the middle of trying to draft a post about my concerns about plastic being left out in the wilds of rural ireland and it just "vanished" - it's probably my fault, or more accurately the laptop being overly sensitive and I touched it in the wrong place at the wrong time!!

 

But would you mind not posting it, and if possible, would you mind sending it back to me so I can finish it....and I want to make sure it's wording and tone is appropriate too, as this is a plea, not an order, so I dont want to upset or anger anyone. I just want them to try to not use plastics when they are are caching in Ireland!

 

 

Geocaching is a fantastic idea, and CITO also, but what's the point of Geocashing if it means plastics are being deposited in locations it's never been seen in before, and CITO is a great initiative also....but what if the CI is plastic, and ends up being lost or forgotten about...and ends up being blown/dragged or pulled into the surrounding area....and then I (and a few of the locals) end up having to go and try to retrieve it - or worse, a wild animal finds it, manages to chew it's way into it and chokes, or worse gets impaled on a badge pin and dies a very slow agonised death??!!

 

Jaysus...I hope it's not a bot reading this.....and decides it's "appropriate" to post hahahaha......*cringe*

 

You could actually try geocaching, instead of reading about it. I'm not sure where you got your information, or what you think is involved, but "plastics" have been a part of geocaching for 15 years. I think if there were some widespread problem involving animals, we would have heard something by now.

 

"Badge pin"? Perhaps there might be some left in caches, but I doubt very much that animals would get impaled on such small things.

 

If there's a part of this world that has never seen "plastics", I would be interested to hear about it. Humans deposit all sorts of trash on the land and in the water every day, and it has nothing to do with geocaching.

 

There are far more interesting things for animals to attempt to find food. Big garbage dumpsters behind restaurants, for example. In some parts of Canada, those are like buffets for bears and raccoons.

 

And, no, there are no bots controlling this forum. You probably clicked a wrong key and unintentionally deleted your post.

 

I have the feeling there's a backstory to you creating an account and posting. I would be interested in hearing it.

 

B.

Edited by Pup Patrol
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Geocaching is a fantastic idea, and CITO also, but what's the point of Geocashing if it means plastics are being deposited in locations it's never been seen in before, and CITO is a great initiative also....but what if the CI is plastic, and ends up being lost or forgotten about...and ends up being blown/dragged or pulled into the surrounding area....and then I (and a few of the locals) end up having to go and try to retrieve it - or worse, a wild animal finds it, manages to chew it's way into it and chokes, or worse gets impaled on a badge pin and dies a very slow agonised death??!!

If you understand the idea of CITO, we CITO everywhere we go.

In 2013 (the only year we weighed each trailer load), my other 2/3rds collected 236 pounds of aluminum cans (beer mostly...) from trails.

- We stopped counting (yuck !) after two trailer loads of assorted "other" garbage we paid to haul away...

Plastic water bottles left by "hikers" ( I feel) are more of a threat to our environment than a thick-walled plastic geocache container.

 

And don't get me started on six pack rings ! :laughing:

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plastics are being deposited in locations it's never been seen in before

 

Please give an example of a place - any place in the world where geocachers could possibly place a cache - where plastic has never been seen before.

 

And "hello" to you too :)

 

Well let me know when, or if, you are ever planning on a visit to the west of Ireland and I will personally take you to multiple locations.

 

I must point out too, that "seeing" plastic is one thing..that's easy to pick up (relatively speaking that is) it's the plastic that's breaking down into almost invisible parts that is going to cause us the greatest problems - if not already.

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I must point out too, that "seeing" plastic is one thing..that's easy to pick up (relatively speaking that is) it's the plastic that's breaking down into almost invisible parts that is going to cause us the greatest problems - if not already.

 

Which is exactly why there is nowhere in the world without plastic and other POPs. I live in Canada, which is home to some of the largest tracts of forest in the world, and I would expect to find traces of plastic and other POPs anywhere, even in the most isolated places. A tiny little overcrowded island like Ireland? Pfft.

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You are welcome to edit your post any time over the next 24 hours.

 

In passing, I will note that in the past 13 years when I've been an active participant in these forums, reports of animals being impaled on badge pins have not been an issue. Unless, of course, one counts hamsters.

[/quote

 

That's because the kind of amimals I'm talking about don't tend to frequent these forums :lol:

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I must point out too, that "seeing" plastic is one thing..that's easy to pick up (relatively speaking that is) it's the plastic that's breaking down into almost invisible parts that is going to cause us the greatest problems - if not already.

 

Which is exactly why there is nowhere in the world without plastic and other POPs. I live in Canada, which is home to some of the largest tracts of forest in the world, and I would expect to find traces of plastic and other POPs anywhere, even in the most isolated places. A tiny little overcrowded island like Ireland? Pfft.

 

Given I don't know you from Adam,...I have to ask..... do you normally respond to people in such an arrogant and rude manner? I was merely making a request that people refrain from using plastics when placing a cache! And gave a few words (ok, maybe more than a few)...about my reasons why. Surely not an ureasonable request?

 

So what you are telling me then, is that Canadians are a dirty buch of lazy litter louts, because as big and all as it (canada) is....it's still littered with rubbish??? yeh! you're right, Ireland is a tiny little island, but it's a clean little island....and get this....that's with it being so overcrowded too :)

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@Whoseyerwan: Sorry for all the glib responses, but you need to understand that you're basically asking us to stop geocaching entirely, so integral are plastic containers to the game. If you began geocaching and got more experience, you'd realize that there really aren't that many abandoned plastic boxes out there. Canada isn't a wasteland of trash, but there's certainly more trash created by other people than by geocachers. I suspect if you began geocaching in Ireland, you'd quickly find yourself in out-of-the-way places you've never been to before and discover that there's more trash than you thought. Like geocachers, the illegal garbage dumpers will tend to look for out-of-the-way places that aren't typically seen by human eyes.

Edited by The A-Team
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I'm not sure what we're supposed to use instead of plastic containers. It seems like you want us to use bio-degradable containers, but that very property of the material would make it unsuitable for remaining out in the wild for any length of time, defeating the whole purpose of geocaching.

 

Anyway, in my experience, the occasional abandoned plastic box left behind by this game pales in comparison to the garbage I've encountered while out geocaching. If I could take all the non-geocaching garbage I've encountered while geocaching and put it all in one place, there'd be a veritable mountain of trash.

 

Also, apparently some animals enjoy the taste of plastic:

07d27ef5-c66d-430f-a094-09ec3395ca89.jpg 0f978f2f-c4f8-4f98-8374-73e253177e32.jpg

tura

Err well, here's the thing, bio-de gradable is a bit of a misnomer.....it's not really much better than regular plastic - it breaks down in the same way - into smaller and smaller parts. Well I would be inclined to suggest a metal container that needs human hands to open it...I was tempted to say a human "brain"...but thought twice about that one. These days people are all for opening their mind, but sadly, many to the point where their brain has fallen out. A metal box with jubilee kind of clips...and the log book/pencil in that. There are lots of solutions that don't need to involve the use of plastic, but sadly people often don't give a toss, and are only interested in their own pleasure etc.....

 

As for the people who have never heard of an animal being impaled...I have spent enough evenings (as a young girl) on the farm trying to remove something out of a lamb/sheep/calf's/cows hoof (nails, bit's of metal etc etc) where someone just carelessly threw it, not thinking. I have seen loads of rabbits caught in all sorts of things, from baling twine to a discarded piece of wire that ended up snaring them. I have seen fish in my local beach swiming around my ankles with bits of plasic trailing behind them. I have seen birds building nests with various stringy/fluffly looking plastics, and I have seen birds eating plastic beads, thinking they were berries. The list is endless.

 

And yes, I agree with your comment about all the other rubbish lying around, it truly does dismay me to see my local beaches becoming more and more littered with washed up rubbish, and most of it is plastic, yet the beach is deserted all year round, it's rubbish that has arrived from god knows where.

 

I am just asking nicely if people would look twice as what they are leaving behind, and ask themselves is this really what they should use......If it were someone else's back garden I would respect their wishes, I am hoping people haven't lost the art of reciprocity.

Edited by Whoseyerwan
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@Whoseyerwan: Sorry for all the glib responses, but you need to understand that you're basically asking us to stop geocaching entirely, so integral are plastic containers to the game. If you began geocaching and got more experience, you'd realize that there really aren't that many abandoned plastic boxes out there. Canada isn't a wasteland of trash, but there's certainly more trash created by other people than by geocachers. I suspect if you began geocaching in Ireland, you'd quickly find yourself in out-of-the-way places you've never been to before and discover that there's more trash than you thought. Like geocachers, the illegal garbage dumpers will tend to look for out-of-the-way places that aren't typically seen by human eyes.

Yeah...

I guess for outdoors folks, we're probably one of the best for leaving little trace.

- The Indian Army's being sent to finally clean up Mt. Everest...

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plastics are being deposited in locations it's never been seen in before

 

Please give an example of a place - any place in the world where geocachers could possibly place a cache - where plastic has never been seen before.

The more remote inland parts of Antarctica? Or did the penguins take it there from the crowded parts? ;)

 

{Yes, it's been a long day!}

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What material would you suggest instead?

 

Glass breaks - and those sharp shards can do damage to wildlife and people.

 

Some metals rust - same safety concerns.

 

Other metals don't rust, but still can be seen as dangerous or environmentally harmful.

 

Any other materials would fall apart or wouldn't keep water out of the cache.

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...

 

Given I don't know you from Adam,...I have to ask..... do you normally respond to people in such an arrogant and rude manner?

 

It has been known.... :ph34r:

So Canada has more real estate than Ireland. So what? Why is anyone getting bent out of shape about any of this?

 

As Keystone would say, let's return to the discussion of plastic debris in connection with caching. :D

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You are welcome to edit your post any time over the next 24 hours.

 

In passing, I will note that in the past 13 years when I've been an active participant in these forums, reports of animals being impaled on badge pins have not been an issue. Unless, of course, one counts hamsters.

 

... and badgers.

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Any Irish geocachers in here? Might be worth notifying them to watch out for disappearing caches. That's obviously where this is headed.

 

You are actually accusing the OP, who has come here with perfectly good intentions, of stealing caches? Nice job of welcoming a person that obviously cares about the environment! :mad: Be nice!

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I must point out too, that "seeing" plastic is one thing..that's easy to pick up (relatively speaking that is) it's the plastic that's breaking down into almost invisible parts that is going to cause us the greatest problems - if not already.

 

Which is exactly why there is nowhere in the world without plastic and other POPs. I live in Canada, which is home to some of the largest tracts of forest in the world, and I would expect to find traces of plastic and other POPs anywhere, even in the most isolated places. A tiny little overcrowded island like Ireland? Pfft.

 

Given I don't know you from Adam,...I have to ask..... do you normally respond to people in such an arrogant and rude manner?

 

Yes, unfortunately, she does. I apologize for her. While some of us beg to differ with you on this matter, I do see you as someone with a love for the environment, and as a geocacher, I thank you for that!

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I must point out too, that "seeing" plastic is one thing..that's easy to pick up (relatively speaking that is) it's the plastic that's breaking down into almost invisible parts that is going to cause us the greatest problems - if not already.

 

Which is exactly why there is nowhere in the world without plastic and other POPs. I live in Canada, which is home to some of the largest tracts of forest in the world, and I would expect to find traces of plastic and other POPs anywhere, even in the most isolated places. A tiny little overcrowded island like Ireland? Pfft.

 

Given I don't know you from Adam,...I have to ask..... do you normally respond to people in such an arrogant and rude manner?

 

Yes, unfortunately, she does. I apologize for her. While some of us beg to differ with you on this matter, I do see you as someone with a love for the environment, and as a geocacher, I thank you for that!

i didn't know you had a sense of humor?
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@Whoseyerwan: Sorry for all the glib responses, but you need to understand that you're basically asking us to stop geocaching entirely, so integral are plastic containers to the game. If you began geocaching and got more experience, you'd realize that there really aren't that many abandoned plastic boxes out there. Canada isn't a wasteland of trash, but there's certainly more trash created by other people than by geocachers. I suspect if you began geocaching in Ireland, yo.u'd quickly find yourself in out-of-the-way places you've never been to before and discover that there's more trash than you thought. Like geocachers, the illegal garbage dumpers will tend to look for out-of-the-way places that aren't typically seen by human eyes.

Yeah...

I guess for outdoors folks, we're probably one of the best for leaving little trace.

- The Indian Army's being sent to finally clean up Mt. Everest...

 

Ah don't worry about it, if people want to be rude etc then let them off...it doesnt bother me on bit, but thank you though, that's very graceful of you to say. :)

 

No,not at all cerberus1 (hope I've got the right name there) that is absolutely not what I am saying. On the contrary I think this is a wonderful game, and no way should it be given up. In fact I used to play a similar game with my children when they were small, little did we know that the rest of the world were also playing a similar game. If I'd known I'd have invited ye to join in lol.....But we didnt have GPS though, our guide was far more primitive - a coin! We said when they got older we'd do it on a global scale....maybe when they finish college......

 

I am an experienced hiker, and I know the fun of just letting something else lead you somewhere.....the journey is only surpassed by the discovery, even if it's only 10 miles down the road.

 

Yeh, I know Canada isn't a wasteland, but that poster pretty much walked herself/himself into that one.

 

Nope, there really isnt any rubbish where I hike..honestly, it would be cheaper for them to go to the local landfill site, petrol here is pretty expensive. Some parts of ireland do have a fly tipping problem though.

 

Ah right...I see.....so it's the Indian Army that clean up after ye then eh? lol.....

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@Whoseyerwan: Sorry for all the glib responses, but you need to understand that you're basically asking us to stop geocaching entirely, so integral are plastic containers to the game. If you began geocaching and got more experience, you'd realize that there really aren't that many abandoned plastic boxes out there. Canada isn't a wasteland of trash, but there's certainly more trash created by other people than by geocachers. I suspect if you began geocaching in Ireland, yo.u'd quickly find yourself in out-of-the-way places you've never been to before and discover that there's more trash than you thought. Like geocachers, the illegal garbage dumpers will tend to look for out-of-the-way places that aren't typically seen by human eyes.

Yeah...

I guess for outdoors folks, we're probably one of the best for leaving little trace.

- The Indian Army's being sent to finally clean up Mt. Everest...

 

Ah don't worry about it, if people want to be rude etc then let them off...it doesnt bother me on bit, but thank you though, that's very graceful of you to say. :)

 

No,not at all cerberus1 (hope I've got the right name there) that is absolutely not what I am saying. On the contrary I think this is a wonderful game, and no way should it be given up. In fact I used to play a similar game with my children when they were small, little did we know that the rest of the world were also playing a similar game. If I'd known I'd have invited ye to join in lol.....But we didnt have GPS though, our guide was far more primitive - a coin! We said when they got older we'd do it on a global scale....maybe when they finish college......

 

I am an experienced hiker, and I know the fun of just letting something else lead you somewhere.....the journey is only surpassed by the discovery, even if it's only 10 miles down the road.

 

Yeh, I know Canada isn't a wasteland, but that poster pretty much walked herself/himself into that one.

 

Nope, there really isnt any rubbish where I hike..honestly, it would be cheaper for them to go to the local landfill site, petrol here is pretty expensive. Some parts of ireland do have a fly tipping problem though.

 

Ah right...I see.....so it's the Indian Army that clean up after ye then eh? lol.....

Nope.

I didn't say anything about giving anything up.

Got me confused with another. :)

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I must point out too, that "seeing" plastic is one thing..that's easy to pick up (relatively speaking that is) it's the plastic that's breaking down into almost invisible parts that is going to cause us the greatest problems - if not already.

 

Which is exactly why there is nowhere in the world without plastic and other POPs. I live in Canada, which is home to some of the largest tracts of forest in the world, and I would expect to find traces of plastic and other POPs anywhere, even in the most isolated places. A tiny little overcrowded island like Ireland? Pfft.

 

Given I don't know you from Adam,...I have to ask..... do you normally respond to people in such an arrogant and rude manner?

 

Yes, unfortunately, she does. I apologize for her. While some of us beg to differ with you on this matter, I do see you as someone with a love for the environment, and as a geocacher, I thank you for that!

 

Well that truly is a shame, but dont worry, once she gets over her sulk she'll be grand......*big cheeky grin* lol.

 

Oh I am sure there are loads that would disagree/differ with me, but I am just hoping that people will just give one or two more seconds thought to what they are putting their cache in, especially the outer plastic bag, and consider swapping the plastic box for maybe a metal one (not perfectly ideal I know, but oh my god anything has got to be better than plastic).

 

lol, that sounds so weird, you thanking me, for wanting to keep my own back garden clean lol....

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Around here caches don't have outer plastic bags. I can see how that would make one cringe - those things would tear and break apart quickly!

 

See my previous post. You say anything would be better than a plastic container, but all materials have their negative side. (My last post wasn't supposed to be snarky, although it may have seemed that way.)

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I must point out too, that "seeing" plastic is one thing..that's easy to pick up (relatively speaking that is) it's the plastic that's breaking down into almost invisible parts that is going to cause us the greatest problems - if not already.

 

Which is exactly why there is nowhere in the world without plastic and other POPs. I live in Canada, which is home to some of the largest tracts of forest in the world, and I would expect to find traces of plastic and other POPs anywhere, even in the most isolated places. A tiny little overcrowded island like Ireland? Pfft.

 

Given I don't know you from Adam,...I have to ask..... do you normally respond to people in such an arrogant and rude manner?

 

Yes, unfortunately, she does. I apologize for her. While some of us beg to differ with you on this matter, I do see you as someone with a love for the environment, and as a geocacher, I thank you for that!

i didn't know you had a sense of humor?

 

In this case, I do not. I thought that was a horrible post. We have a newcomer to the forums here, and she almost immediately gets treated like this? In another post, the same person essentially called the OP a cache thief, or at least a potential cache thief. I am embarrassed and angry when I see people treated like that!

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@Whoseyerwan: Sorry for all the glib responses, but you need to understand that you're basically asking us to stop geocaching entirely, so integral are plastic containers to the game. If you began geocaching and got more experience, you'd realize that there really aren't that many abandoned plastic boxes out there. Canada isn't a wasteland of trash, but there's certainly more trash created by other people than by geocachers. I suspect if you began geocaching in Ireland, yo.u'd quickly find yourself in out-of-the-way places you've never been to before and discover that there's more trash than you thought. Like geocachers, the illegal garbage dumpers will tend to look for out-of-the-way places that aren't typically seen by human eyes.

Yeah...

I guess for outdoors folks, we're probably one of the best for leaving little trace.

- The Indian Army's being sent to finally clean up Mt. Everest...

 

Ah don't worry about it, if people want to be rude etc then let them off...it doesnt bother me on bit, but thank you though, that's very graceful of you to say. :)

 

No,not at all cerberus1 (hope I've got the right name there) that is absolutely not what I am saying. On the contrary I think this is a wonderful game, and no way should it be given up. In fact I used to play a similar game with my children when they were small, little did we know that the rest of the world were also playing a similar game. If I'd known I'd have invited ye to join in lol.....But we didnt have GPS though, our guide was far more primitive - a coin! We said when they got older we'd do it on a global scale....maybe when they finish college......

 

I am an experienced hiker, and I know the fun of just letting something else lead you somewhere.....the journey is only surpassed by the discovery, even if it's only 10 miles down the road.

 

Yeh, I know Canada isn't a wasteland, but that poster pretty much walked herself/himself into that one.

 

Nope, there really isnt any rubbish where I hike..honestly, it would be cheaper for them to go to the local landfill site, petrol here is pretty expensive. Some parts of ireland do have a fly tipping problem though.

 

Ah right...I see.....so it's the Indian Army that clean up after ye then eh? lol.....

Nope.

I didn't say anything about giving anything up.

Got me confused with another. :)

 

Didn't you???

Did I??

Oops, sorry -insert your own name - I aint risking it again lol :)

 

Jesus!! It's 2am and I have crazy work day tomorrow....nite all you internet people... and Canada...a special nite nite birdie for you :P

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I must point out too, that "seeing" plastic is one thing..that's easy to pick up (relatively speaking that is) it's the plastic that's breaking down into almost invisible parts that is going to cause us the greatest problems - if not already.

 

Which is exactly why there is nowhere in the world without plastic and other POPs. I live in Canada, which is home to some of the largest tracts of forest in the world, and I would expect to find traces of plastic and other POPs anywhere, even in the most isolated places. A tiny little overcrowded island like Ireland? Pfft.

 

Given I don't know you from Adam,...I have to ask..... do you normally respond to people in such an arrogant and rude manner?

 

Yes, unfortunately, she does. I apologize for her. While some of us beg to differ with you on this matter, I do see you as someone with a love for the environment, and as a geocacher, I thank you for that!

 

Well that truly is a shame, but dont worry, once she gets over her sulk she'll be grand......*big cheeky grin* lol.

 

Oh I am sure there are loads that would disagree/differ with me, but I am just hoping that people will just give one or two more seconds thought to what they are putting their cache in, especially the outer plastic bag, and consider swapping the plastic box for maybe a metal one (not perfectly ideal I know, but oh my god anything has got to be better than plastic).

 

lol, that sounds so weird, you thanking me, for wanting to keep my own back garden clean lol....

 

The *preferred* container for most is a metal ammo can. But oftentimes they are too large to be hidden, and moreover, in recent years, they have become rather expensive to leave out in the woods. Besides, they too are potential "geolitter" if not picked up. It would probably take a generation or two for a steel ammo can to totally rust away to nothing.

 

The ideal is that cachers retrieve their containers when they are finished. I think that most cachers that are still playing the game will do that. The bigger problem comes when we get some new cacher that goes out and immediately hides dozens of caches, then tires of the game and quits. Sometimes other cachers will go out and retrieve the garbage, but unfortunately, there is no way of knowing if they really left, or if perhaps they simply left geocaching.com for one of the alternative sites.

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Around here caches don't have outer plastic bags. I can see how that would make one cringe - those things would tear and break apart quickly!

 

See my previous post. You say anything would be better than a plastic container, but all materials have their negative side. (My last post wasn't supposed to be snarky, although it may have seemed that way.)

 

Agreed, totally! In fact, an outer plastic bag is generally considered tacky, at best. If you need to do that, you picked a poor container to begin with.

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Another thing to consider is that all caches are temporary, be it one week or 15 years. Part of the guidelines require us to pick up any residual caches/cache debris when the cache is archived. Between this and CITO events, I believe that the environment is better, as a whole, with geocachers in it. That said, I do agree that many of us need to take more care in selecting the right container for the right environment.

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I am unclear why someone is posting about plastic containers and yet has ZERO finds on their profile? Is it a busy cacher who wants to remain anonymous so they created a new account? Is it someone who just likes to troll the internet and cause trouble? As far as how much damage is being done to the environment by plastic geocaching containers, it would probably rate somewhere between the damage done by flea farts and the damage done by butterfly burps!

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What material would you suggest instead?

 

Glass breaks - and those sharp shards can do damage to wildlife and people.

 

Some metals rust - same safety concerns.

 

Other metals don't rust, but still can be seen as dangerous or environmentally harmful.

 

Any other materials would fall apart or wouldn't keep water out of the cache.

 

Hang on, you mean to tell me that after 15 years or more someone, somewhere, hasn't developed some sort of appropriate box/container. I dunno, somehow I find that hard to believe. A flask! Has no one thought of a stainless steel flask???

 

Flask of genius there :)

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I am unclear why someone is posting about plastic containers and yet has ZERO finds on their profile? Is it a busy cacher who wants to remain anonymous so they created a new account? Is it someone who just likes to troll the internet and cause trouble? As far as how much damage is being done to the environment by plastic geocaching containers, it would probably rate somewhere between the damage done by flea farts and the damage done by butterfly burps!

 

I am guessing it is somebody that knows about geocaching and cares about the environment and the world around her and has come here to ask us to be careful. I find your post to be very rude to a caring newcomer. Please be polite. Would you treat a guest in your house like that?

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Around here caches don't have outer plastic bags. I can see how that would make one cringe - those things would tear and break apart quickly!

 

See my previous post. You say anything would be better than a plastic container, but all materials have their negative side. (My last post wasn't supposed to be snarky, although it may have seemed that way.)

 

Agreed, totally! In fact, an outer plastic bag is generally considered tacky, at best. If you need to do that, you picked a poor container to begin with.

 

Oh right, sorry, I must have misread you....

 

Oh I do realise that they will all have a downside, but my irritation is entirely to do with plastic, I truly cannot understand why people would want to be going around depositing caches of plastic, particularly when the problems it's causing are so well documented and highlighted.

 

Apparently we have almost 7,000 Geocache sites in ireland. I can be pretty sure most of them are in rural locations and not places one would typically find deposits of plastics

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What material would you suggest instead?

 

Glass breaks - and those sharp shards can do damage to wildlife and people.

 

Some metals rust - same safety concerns.

 

Other metals don't rust, but still can be seen as dangerous or environmentally harmful.

 

Any other materials would fall apart or wouldn't keep water out of the cache.

 

Hang on, you mean to tell me that after 15 years or more someone, somewhere, hasn't developed some sort of appropriate box/container. I dunno, somehow I find that hard to believe. A flask! Has no one thought of a stainless steel flask???

 

Flask of genius there :)

 

A stainless steel flask would be around probably a lot longer than a plastic one, and would cost more than most people would be willing to spend on a container that they are leaving for anybody to stumble across. Even a surplus ammo can will cost around $20 US these days.

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Many parks (and I'd bet at least one near you) require a clear, plastic container.

 

Sorry, I dont understand why a park would require a clear plastic bag? Here a park could be anything from a kiddies playground, to a field that has been nicely mown (see croke park) , to a football pitch, to grand elaborate landscaped garden.

Edited by Whoseyerwan
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I have always considered myself to be a metal ammo-can-in-the-woods type of cacher. But according to my supplier, the price started rising after people around here became convinced that Obama was going to take away their bullets. So without plastics, I guess there would be a lot more bison tubes and nanos. I am not sure that would be a good thing, for either the game or the environment. At least most cachers have figured out that cheap lightweight plastic containers don't work.

 

We just purchased tickets to visit Ireland to watch the Grand Prix of Darts. Tungsten there. Besides that I expect to visit several earthcaches and virtuals so I am not sure how many containers I will inspect. But from what I have heard about fairy forts and other locations, I would be careful with where I left anything there, plastic or not. There are some folks I would not want to offend.

Edited by geodarts
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Many parks (and I'd bet at least one near you) require a clear, plastic container.

 

Sorry, I dont understand why a park would require a clear plastic bag? Here a park could be anything from a kiddies playground, to a field that has been nicely mown (see croke park) , to a football pitch, to grand elaborate landscaped garden.

 

There are land managers that want to have a clear container so the cache is not mistaken for a bomb. And to allow people to look inside before opening - perhaps so that a bomb is not mistaken for a cache. But plastic bags are frowned upon. A sturdy lock n lock container is often used.

Edited by geodarts
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