A peanut butter jar can be used as a backpacking trash can. (Compass Points Media / flickr)
A quick tip for this Tuesday.
“Pack out what you pack in” is a principle hikers hear about all the time, but how to do you pack out your trash so it doesn’t leak fluid and odors into the rest of your backpack?
The answer can be found in a favorite food of backpackers – peanut butter.
Take a large, plastic peanut butter jar. Spend weeks eating P&J sandwiches, making peanut butter cookies, dipping your finger in and taking a quick lick. Once the jar is empty, thoroughly wash it out with soap and water.
Bingo! A backpacking trash can.
Take the cleaned out peanut butter jar with you on your next backpacking trip and jam in your trash. You can fit two to three days worth of trash into the jar before it needs to be emptied.
Close the lid tightly, and the jar is better constructed to help prevent nasty fluid or odors from spreading through your backpack compared to Zip Loc bags or trash bags.
I’ve been using mine for five years and will continue to do so for probably another five years.
And hey! How bad can spending time emptying a peanut butter jar be? Not bad at all!
