Do Humans Poop in the Woods? Yes, and It Has Become a Big Problem.

Along with hiking trails, popular swimming holes and local recreational waters are increasingly showing signs of stress from improperly disposed human feces.

Vermont, celebrated for its pristine natural beauty and vibrant outdoor culture, is grappling with a problem that is often unseen, rarely discussed in polite company, but increasingly significant: human waste in its cherished parks and protected areas. This challenge, recently highlighted in national outlets like The Conversation, isn't unique to the Green Mountain State, but its manifestations here offer a microcosm of national struggles, alongside some uniquely Vermont-specific policy paradoxes.

A Growing National Concern Reaches Vermont

Across the United States, a surge in outdoor recreation, with tens of millions of Americans hiking annually, has brought with it an escalating environmental and public health dilemma. From the heavily trafficked trails of national parks to remote wilderness areas, land managers are reporting an undeniable increase in improperly disposed human feces. This isn't just an aesthetic issue; according to environmental scientists, human waste introduces harmful pathogens—including bacteria, viruses, and protozoans like Giardia—that can contaminate water sources, sicken wildlife, and pose direct health risks to other visitors for over a year after deposition.

In Vermont, the evidence suggests this national trend is firmly rooted in local realities. The problem presents itself differently across the state's diverse landscapes, from popular day-use areas to the most remote stretches of the Long Trail.

Frontcountry Foul: Swimming Holes and Illegal Dumping

For many Vermonters, the most direct encounter with human waste pollution occurs not in the distant backcountry, but in easily accessible "frontcountry" areas. Popular swimming holes and local recreational waters are increasingly showing signs of stress. According to the Vermont Swimming Hole Collaborative, a partnership of organizations managing dozens of popular sites, rising visitor numbers are directly linked to elevated levels of "dangerous bacteria in the water."

This concern is more than anecdotal. The Vermont Department of Health and various municipal bodies routinely monitor these waters for Escherichia coli (E. coli), a key indicator of fecal contamination. When E. coli levels exceed a health-protective limit of 235 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters of water, public health officials are forced to issue advisories or, in severe cases, close public beaches and swimming areas. These closures serve as a stark, quantifiable measure of the public health impact.

Beyond recreational areas, the state has also grappled with more egregious acts of waste disposal. In 2022, volunteers in Bolton discovered hundreds of pounds of bagged human waste repeatedly dumped over a guardrail near the Winooski River. Local and state officials, including the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), suspected a failed residential septic system was the culprit. This incident, according to the DEC, underscores a critical vulnerability: when private sanitation systems fail, public lands and waterways often become the unwitting recipients of hazardous waste, prompting state programs to offer financial assistance for septic system replacements.

The Long Trail's Long-Term Solution: A National Model

While frontcountry areas struggle with reactive measures, Vermont's backcountry, particularly its iconic Long Trail, tells a story of proactive, multi-decade innovation. The Long Trail, maintained by the Green Mountain Club (GMC), experienced significant environmental degradation during the "backpacking boom of the 1970s." Increasing visitor numbers overwhelmed the traditional pit privies, leading to widespread contamination and unsanitary conditions, particularly at popular campsites and shelters.

In response, the GMC embarked on a pioneering, multi-million-dollar initiative, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and state agencies. Their goal: to replace all 73 pit privies along the Long Trail System with advanced composting toilets. This ambitious project reached a major milestone in October 2024, with the final pit privy being replaced. Today, the Long Trail boasts one of the most comprehensive and technologically advanced backcountry sanitation systems in the United States.

According to the GMC, two primary types of composting systems are now in use. "Batch-bin composters" rely on aerobic decomposition, where waste is mixed with bark mulch and regularly turned to break down naturally at high temperatures, effectively killing pathogens. These require users to add mulch and, importantly, not to urinate in the privy, as excess liquid inhibits the process. "Moldering privies," the more common type, facilitate a slower, continuous aerobic decomposition in large, ventilated chambers below the toilet, requiring users to add wood shavings and, conversely, to urinate in them to provide necessary moisture for the composting process. This systematic upgrade, according to the GMC, represents a profound commitment to sustainable recreation and has significantly reduced the environmental impact of human waste along the trail.

The Composting Conundrum: A Vermont Policy Paradox

Despite its leadership in backcountry composting, Vermont faces a curious policy paradox at the state level. While the state government, through agencies like the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, actively funds and promotes the use of composting toilets in its public parks and trails as an environmentally superior solution, its regulations for residential composting systems are notably restrictive.

According to current DEC regulations, composted solids from home composting toilets cannot legally be used as a soil amendment on private property. Instead, homeowners are typically required to dispose of this material as trash, which means sending it to the state's single operating landfill. The DEC's rationale, according to agency spokespersons, stems from a concern over quality control and the difficulty of ensuring that every homeowner consistently manages their system correctly to eliminate all pathogens.

This stance has created frustration among sustainability advocates and homeowners who see composting as a responsible way to recycle nutrients and reduce waste. Organizations like the Brattleboro-based Rich Earth Institute are actively working to change these regulations, advocating for the creation of clear, science-based best management practices that would allow for the safe, on-site use of human-derived compost. They argue, in essence, that if the state trusts its agencies to manage the process in a public park, it should develop pathways for private citizens to do so responsibly on their own land.

The End of the Line: Landfills, PFAS, and Systemic Waste Challenges

The commonly understood outdoor ethic of "Pack It In, Pack It Out" is undeniably crucial for protecting natural areas. However, as one examines the final destination of that "packed out" waste, a more complex and environmentally compromised reality emerges within Vermont's statewide waste management system.

Any human waste packed out from a trail, along with residential compost destined for the trash, ultimately ends up at Vermont's single operational landfill in Coventry. This facility, while essential, is not without its own profound environmental challenges. According to the DEC, the Coventry landfill is a documented source of contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the persistent "forever chemicals" found in countless consumer and industrial products. State testing has detected high levels of PFAS in the landfill's leachate—the liquid that drains from the waste—and this leachate has, in turn, contaminated local wastewater treatment plants. Therefore, concentrating human waste at the landfill contributes to a broader, and very serious, statewide PFAS pollution problem.

This systemic reality highlights a critical point: while packing out waste is vital for protecting the immediate recreational environment, it often transfers the environmental burden to a centralized system with its own significant and complex issues. This, in turn, strengthens the argument for effective, on-site waste treatment solutions, such as the advanced composting systems used on the Long Trail. By processing waste where it is generated, these systems not only protect the backcountry but also avoid contributing to the state's ongoing challenges with landfill capacity and pervasive chemical contaminants, offering a more holistically sustainable approach to human waste in the Green Mountain State.