eco-friendly camping

[campingforfun]

Here's some little pointers for those of you who want to help preserve the earth and the environment but may not be sure how to participate.

Many people love to use plastic utensils, styrofoam cups and other disposable eating items when camping. Think about buying paper plates and cups that are biodegradeable.

Instead of plastic forks, knives and spoons, buy environmentally friendly utensils made out of potato or corn starch. These are quite durable when using to eat on but can be thrown into the compost for the garden.

Also, try to make purchases of products with biodegradeable packing.

[billyj]

Good tips campingforfun.

We are not save the world people by any means, but we do try to do little things like this when we go camping. I dont think everyone needs to be over the top about it, but just think how much it would help if everyone just did a small part, things like you mentioned.

As much as we hate washing dishes we actually stopped using throw away plates and utensils for the most part. We do always have some, but most of the time we use silverware when camping.

Another eco friendly camping tip while we are on the subject:

Styrofoam has a chemical compound in it that will not decompose. I know many people do (including me sometimes) burn styrofoam in the camp fire. Styrofoam is toxic when inhaled. They are not good for the environment.

[grace]

That an important point when burning Styrofoam. I just got an e-mail from my Mom about fluorescent light bulbs having mercury in them. We can't dispose of properly from just taking them to the dump. This is my point : Sometimes when we are solving one problem, we are creating another one. We get the fluorescent bulbs to save on energy. They do save energy, but we still have mercury in them.

[raymond]

I like the idea of using bio-degradable plates and cups for camping because you can use and then just burry it in the ground and it would just "disappear"=] i found a site that i buy the plates, cups, napkins from it's Tree Less Products | Biodegradable Products you should check it out the stuff made from 100% sugarcane fibers and it bio-degrades in 45 days in the best conditions.

[happiestcamper]

When we first got our camper, we ended up filling up the gray water tank by washing dishes, so we packed them away and started using paper plates, etc. The past 2 trips I dug out the old plates, flatware, bowls, and cups, and washed in tubs outside. Since I was already washing pots and pans at breakfast and supper anyway, it doesn't take much longer to wash these, plus the table looks nicer.

[xisle]

Those are all excellent points. But I worry far less about our eating utensils than I do putting my left overs in the ground. lol. Just kidding...I'm a pretty good camp chuck. And I quit using disposable eating supplies a long time ago. Iron pots and steel plates and sporks is what I use. And I think that heating water and washing them enhances the experience. I enjoy maintaining a clean, orderly camp. I'm sure, however, that I could find some disposables that aren't particularly green, in my gear. Those foil covered cardboard salt and pepper shakers for example. I'm not sure, just trying to think of the most obvious infractions. But I am sure that a few burned styrofoam cups isn't any worse for the environment than the emissions from the vehicle you used to get to that camping spot.

[kiteri]

The Boy Scouts make wooden utensils too! Very neat:

Disposable Wooden Forks

I would be interested to know how much energy was expelled to create them, but if you don't have a good gray water disposal option, (like some of us tent campers in the middle of NOWHERE can encounter) they are probably the most sensible solution.

[antigua]

We always use paper plates and use the plates as a fire starter for the campfire. As for the rest, we always use knives and forks from home and wash them with enviroment friendly dish soap (biodegradable) along with the cups and other stuff we use. I always try to be as claen as possable to the enviroment as I can.

[l2l]

We do the same as much as possible Antigua, paper products where ever possible and burn it rather than TRASH IT...

NO plastic except for our washable cups.