October 2022
Microtrash Removal Project: Keysville South Recreation Area
600+ gallons
4 volunteers
5 days
Microtrash removal is vital in restoring our public lands. In October 2022, over a period of 5 days, our volunteers removed 12, 55 gallon bags of microtrash from Keysville South Recreation Area. Microtrash is tedious to clean up, however, our dedicated volunteers are there to respond and pick up one bit of trash at a time.


Keysville South Recreation Site is a beautiful dispersed camping area managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Keysville offers commercial and noncommercial white-water rafting opportunities as well as fishing, recreational gold panning, and dispersed camping. A network of over seventy miles of trails provides for mountain biking, equestrian, and motorized recreation use.
Ways you can help:
- Remember to be mindful while enjoying our public access lands.
- Bring a zip lock bag to contain small litter items (torn wrapper corners, bread ties, toilet paper) from blowing away in the wind.
- Avoid glass containers (once broken it is nearly impossible to remove all pieces).
- Be sure to collect all your bottle caps, pull tabs from sodas/beer, aluminum foil, and fish hooks.
- Bring an extra trash bag and pick up any trash you see (even if it is not yours).
- Discard cigarette butts appropriately into a container that will not flammable.
More about “Microtrash”
Microtrash is the smallest bits that escape from pockets and into the breeze. These tiny bits of litter are usually not biodegradable and can have adverse effects on wildlife by creating choking hazards or intestinal blockages. It often includes include the corners of snack wrappers from granola bars, crackers, trail mix, energy gels, plastic straws, candy wrappers, bread ties, stickers from produce and cigarette butts. Metal microtrash often includes bottle caps, pull tabs from soda/beer, lids from canned foods, and fish hooks. Even the tiny bits of trash can collectively add up to a big problem for our ecosystems and wildlife. Microtrash pollutes the rivers, major lakes, and oceans. Scientists have found long lasting pieces of plastic in every part of the globe, from the deep sea beds of our oceans to the highest peaks in the world.
Let’s do our part, keep track of everything you bring into the wilderness, and make sure you bring every bit of your stuff (and more) back out again. Happy camping!
