 Camping
Cleanliness
Keeping the camp clean is a priority that
most campers understand. But many times we pollute the surrounding
without realising it. The important thing to remember here is
that anything unnatural that you introduce to the outdoors will
have some impact on the environment.
We need to use soap, shampoo and other cleaners
and detergents to keep things clean. Many people use bleach
to keep the insects away. When it rains, your campsite vegetation
will get a bath in bleach. This creates an unhealthy camping
environment.
 Pollution
of the water source is another major problem for campers. Remember,
the water source from where you collect the drinking and cooking
water should be different from the place for dish washing, hair
rinsing or dumping. If your campsite is close to a stream of
water make sure you take the drinking water from upstream and
use downstream water for cleaning and other similar purposes.
While cleaning dish and the clothes in the
camp, be careful where you deposit the dirt and the water. Do
not let the dish water mix with the water from the stream. Dirty
dishwater can contain all kinds of bacteria. Anything you dump
from your dish drainer can contaminate the surrounding area.
So be careful to dump your dishwater into a drain or a pit toilet.
 Litter
is always a bad thing. Especially if the littered things are
non-biodegradable. When you go camping please keep in mind that
the following items do not bio-degrade easily.
Plastic is among the most harmful composite
for the environment. It does not bio-degrade in years. In some
of the tourist places around this region almost the whole of
the ground is covered with plastic. This causes severe damage
to the environment. In most of the places use of plastic carry
bag is banned. The campers should avoid litter of plastic at
all cost.
Cigarette Butts These are found everywhere. Smoking cigarette
in the camp site should be avoided as far as possible. Make
sure even if you smoke you do not litter the butts which are
often made of non bio-degradable material. Make sure your cigarette
is completely out so that you dont cause a forest fire.
Aluminum Foil is commonly used by campers now-a-days and most
campers use the camp fire pit to dispose of the foil. The foil
normally doesn't burn or melt at the temperatures you will achieve
with your campfire.
Aluminum cans and glass bottles are another thing we often
see in the camp sites. These should ideally be brought back
with you after the camp to be disposed better.
Food Although you may not find leaving food items in your
campsite 'litter' - others may. Chicken bones do not disappear
overnight. Some food items left behind can actually cause damage
to the local wildlife.
Paper is a terrible problem found in almost all campsites.
People often bring a lot of paper including newspapers to the
campsite. And while leaving the campsite they leave the paper
behind causing extensive eyesore.
The basic rule of camping is that you should
leave the site cleaner than you found it.
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