Abstract
Carry in/ Carry out (CICO) policies have been used in front-country parks for a long time. According to the National Park Service (2013), “trash free parks” are ones that implement carry in and carry out policies; the manager of a park removes all or most of the garbage cans in hope of having park patrons carry out the refuse that they generate and dispose of it at home. Managers use this policy as a way to reduce the costs associated with hauling trash out of the park, and to deter patrons from leaving garbage in the park. Reducing the amount of trash clean up also gives the park staff the ability to focus on other operational needs and park projects. This study looks at the effectiveness of carry in/ carry out policies in federal parks, state parks, and NGO-managed lands by interviewing sixteen managers (n=16) of these areas in the Northeast. This exploratory study used grounded theory. Two strategies were used to collect data (online survey and phone interviews). Data was analyzed by coding. Results suggest that the number one barrier for getting visitors to comply with CICO policies is a lack of awareness about littering. The most common benefit for using a CICO system is to save money, followed by creating public awareness about the items brought into parks. This study found that 67% of NGO managers and 75% of federal managers think that CICO is an effective policy; state park managers were mixed on whether CICO policies are in fact effective. The one thing that federal, state, and NGO agencies agree on is that there is always litter to be picked up by staff or volunteers. The amount of that litter varied from park to park, and there does not seem to be one strategy that works for everyone.