Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (26-Oct-2016)

After completing a clean-up at Minisink Park, Leigh Ann Stratakos and I drove up to a couple of the pull-offs for the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation area off of route 611. The first stop was a quick one and we only picked up a handful of trash, so it is not pictured in this post. Above is from our second stop which offers amazing views of the gap. 

All of the trash at this location was along the edge of the parking lot, road and trail going up to a small observation structure. There was a lot. I think part of the reason for all of this trash is that there are no garbage receptacles at this stop. Most of the time the reason there are not receptacles at areas like this is because they fill up quickly, have to be maintained by the park and often people dump items that shouldn't be left near them. So simple solutions like adding trash cans can come with more problems and this is why many parks ask you to take your trash out with you.

This was everything we collected from around the observation area. There were multiple diapers and it looks as though some people use the observation area as a changing table and discard their child's waste into the brush on the side. From this point we loaded the trash into the car and continued cleaning up along the parking area. 

This was everything we collected along the lot. This area is part of our National Park System and shouldn't be filled with litter like this. I will never be able to comprehend why individuals can't respect our parks, federal, state or local. These areas belong to all of use and we should all make an effort to maintain them not only for our future generations, but for the wildlife that inhabits these areas. After loading everything into the car, Leigh Ann and I were off to make one more stop before calling it a day. 
You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash

Like this project? Like it on Facebook: Taking Out the Trash in Eastern PA