Aussie campers under fire for 'irresponsible' trend

While some are participating, others are doing their bit to help out. Have you noticed it?

Campers across the country are being called out for their behaviour, as a new trend being hailed as irresponsible and disrespectful emerges.

Recently, there has been an uptick in the deliberate and illegal dumping of rubbish at campsites, leading others to step in.

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An unfortunate trend

Over the weekend, a group of campers has come under fire after a man took to Facebook, sharing that he found a mess after they left at a camping ground on K'gari.

The island, formerly known as Fraser Island, has been in the news plenty over the past few years as a result of the behaviour of tourists and campers. Though, previously, this has revolved around their interactions with dingoes, now rubbish is the main concern.

According to the man, these campers deliberately left a bunch of cheap camping gear, including a blow-up mattress, a tarp, bags of rubbish, and a Kmart sleeping bag case with a person's name written on it, behind after their departure.

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In response, the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI) told Yahoo News that this behaviour was "extremely disappointing to see”.

"We are seeing increasing numbers of people purposefully dumping rubbish," the spokesperson said. 

"K’gari is a world heritage area for a reason, we would urge all campers to treat it with the respect it deserves".

It is an offence to deliberate dump rubbish on K'gari with those caught by rangers subject to on-the-spot fines of $322.60 - and close to $500 if food and rubbish is not kept safe from dingoes.

Aussies stepping up

Whilst the spike in incidents is negative, this man is not the only one who has been calling out campers.

TikTok creators Jack and Liam from @rest.stop.rescues have been travelling around Western Australia, cleaning up rest stops and free camps.

“Our aim is to rescue these brilliant places from getting removed off the map, and inform other visitors to do their part to clean up after themselves,” they say in their first video.

So far, they have posted seven episodes of their series from stops across the state, and will be doing even more at every place they stay in.

Originally published as Aussie campers under fire for 'irresponsible' trend