The sheer rock faces, winding trails and granite crags around Squamish in south-western British Columbia have seen a surge of climbers, campers and hikers lured to answer the call of the wild – but who are increasingly causing friction with local people when nature calls.
Earlier this week, the Squamish Access Society announced it had partnered with the province’s parks service and local businesses to erect five poop bag dispensers, placed at busy climbing locations, with four more planned in the coming weeks.
Although most visitors leave with little more than an appreciation for rugged beauty of the temperate rainforest, not everyone adheres to the principles of “no trace” camping or climbing, with unfortunate discoveries being made on the ledges of remote crags or off popular hiking trails.
Unlike dog waste bags in city parks, the dispensers contain waste-alleviating gel bags – known as Wag bags – that contain enzymes to break down fecal matter and smell.
To some veterans of outdoor adventure the bags are already a fixture of their gear list, but with social media and the pandemic encouraging greater numbers of hikers, climbers and campers, SAS saw a problem that wasn’t taking care of itself.
“We tested it out by having a bag and [putting it in] a hot car for the day, inside of the car, and there were no odours afterward,” Ben Webster, chair of the SAS told CityNews.
“So the bags are effective, they’re robust, you don’t have to worry about leakage. And the idea is you take it out and dispose of it properly afterwards.”
In addition to a handful of bags at the stations, the group has also included a series of pictograms demonstrating how to use the bags to relieve oneself in the wilderness.
