Inadequate Faeces Disposal in Back-country Areas, Tasmania: Environmental Impacts and Potential Solutions

In Australia and overseas, park managers have long expressed concern about human waste management, especially along popular overnight walking tracks. Within Australia, states have implemented Minimal Impact Bushwalking guidelines (MIB) for day and overnight park users. In Tasmania, these guidelines advise walkers to bury their toilet waste in a hole approximately 15 cm deep and 100 m away from campsites or water sources. Data presented in this paper show that these guidelines are not being followed. A number of deposits of poorly buried human waste were found within 50 m of a popular hut in one national park. The impact of nutrient additions from human urine and faeces on soils and vegetation was limited to within a few metres of the hut. Human faecal contamination was detected in small pools near the hut. Management options for influencing the behaviour of overnight walkers are discussed within the framework of a 'limits to acceptable change' model.