THE END OF TRASH

Trash Free Trails is on a mission to rid the trails of trash for good

- Jamie Darlow

The last 12 months have been a boom time for our sport – new riders rushed into mountain biking, old hands returned, quality bike shops killed it thanks to the increase in bike sales, and it seemed everyone was heading to the local woods to go riding. This is great news – more riders means more people having fun, leading healthier lives and, in the long run, more trails, better access and greater recognition for our sport.

But it also means more rubbish in the natural environment – where there are people, there is litter. And now, after a year in which wild places saved plenty of us from going stir crazy, our trails are looking dirtier than ever. Couple that with the increase in single-use plastic following the pandemic, and the known damage spoiling the natural environment can have on biodiversity, human health and mental wellbeing, and there’s a pile up of rubbish.

It’s not all doom and gloom though, community not-for-profit organisation Trash Free Trails now has big plans to reach more people, educate them about the value of nature and finally stem the tide of trash on our trails. Founded in 2017 with a simple Instagram post calling for people to clean up their trails, TFT now has a global reach with more than 1,250 volunteers, while in 2019-2020 some 2,500km of trail was cleansed of rubbish in more than 300 trail cleans.

DRECK LIST