Human manure makes filthy impact on our 100% Pure
VISITORS are leaving unpleasant calling cards at New Zealand’s national parks – used toilet paper.
Nelson Tramping Club president Kate Krawczyk said popular tourists trails, like the Abel Tasman coast track, were being ruined by the ‘‘disgusting’’ practice.
‘‘I just don’t really understand why anyone thinks it is ok to do that.’’
She had also noticed it recently when hiking in the Nelson Lakes National Park, and the North Island’s Tongariro Crossing.
In one case, while walking along in the Nelson Lakes area, she came across toilet paper on the track that had been weighed down with a rock.
‘‘It seems just such a no brainer, if you want to use toilet paper, you should just carry a little bag with you.’’
Department of Conservation Motueka operations manager Mark Townsend agreed it was an ongoing problem –especially at stopping points, lookouts, and attractions.
‘‘We encourage people to use a toilet where there is one. It’s part of caring for the environment. We also appreciate that visitors find it unpleasant to see toilet paper and wipes on tracks.’’
DOC rangers and staff picked up ‘‘obvious deposits’’ of paper and wipes if they could be seen from the track.
There are 54 toilets along the Abel Tasman Coast Track, at all entrances, campsites, huts and coastal access points, where water taxis land.
The longest stretch between toilets was a three-hour walk between Torrent Bay and Medlands Beach. Townsend said tourism operators had suggested a toilet be installed at Falls River, halfway between the two.
There were signs at the entrances to the park in Marahau, Totaranui and Wainui, which stated toilets were to be used where provided and waste buried where they were not.
Each year, about 90,000 litres of sewage is pumped out of the park’s toilets onto a sewage tanker aboard a barge.
Townsend said leaving human waste could contaminate soil and water supplies, spreading diseases like giardia.
If someone needed to go in the bush, Townsend said they should dig a shallow hole away from water and then cover it over.