“Leave No Trace” for Dummies

Joseph Guerrero in Tips and Advices

Sep 20, 2019 • 2 min Read

The Philippines has a problem with trash. Or discipline.

Imagine—this may be an everyday scenario—a teen opening a packet of cracker sandwich while walking home from school. “Rrrippp!” sings the wrapper, and the next thing you notice is that small corner foil flying from his thumb and forefinger on to the ground. Follow the teen some more and you will witness the whole wrapper flying from his hand. The world has become the teen’s trash bin.

What do you do then? (a) Pick up the trash. (b) Call the teen, point out the next bin, and discuss LNT.

Hikers are familiar with LNT, which stands for Leave No Trace, but everyone else should know about it. All humans should practice LNT from toddlers, to teens, to adults.

LNT is all about outdoor ethics and it espouses seven principles. For dummies, let us concentrate on two principles only: dispose of waste properly, and be considerate of other visitors.

Know where the trash bins are and dispose your trash properly. There are trash bins everywhere. It is a matter of habit of keeping even the small foil in one’s pocket or bag when a trash bin is not within sight. Do you cringe at the thought of throwing away a wrapper by stealthily opening your fist and allowing the wrapper to drop to the ground? Good. You are an LNT warrior. Keep it up.

Be mindful and consider other humans. We share the planet with 7.5 billion humans. If half of the world’s population throws their trash everywhere, everyone else suffers from this indiscretion. Imagine one human body with a clogged artery. It is not just the heart that suffers when the clog totally blocks blood flow away from the heart. The human suffers.

Practice LNT today and you might be saving the future with one little act of LNT kindness.