Qualoya: Shocked by all the trash

Borghild Moe was shocked to find rubbish, toilet paper and faeces strewn across the parking lot at Kattfjordeidet in Kualoa. Now he is asking Tromsø municipality to take action.

On April 27 this year, Borgild Mo took his skis and a group of friends and drove to Kattfjordeidet.

Both the weather and skiing conditions were flawless and they prepared to climb Midakstinton.

– The weather was good and we parked there in the lower parking lot, says Moe iTromsø.

But behind the plow's edge, they found something that put a real brake on the entire ski trip.

Not only was there a lot of trash, but toilet paper and feces were thrown away.

– I thought “Oh”, says Mo.

– I did not expect to see there. I have been there many times over the years and I have never noticed anything like that there before, he says.

Stool problem

In a letter to the municipality, he requests that steps be taken to prevent such discoveries in the future.

“I hope we don't get Lofoten conditions in Tromsø… Can anything be done to avoid this?”, he writes in the letter.

Over the years, the media have written about the problems in Lofoten, where tourists have been doing without rooms and weather for a long time.

Last summer, representatives of the Department of Tourism visited Lofoten and collected old feces from Lofoten National Park.

Eventually, they ended up taking it 40 liters of human excrement.

But this is not an unusual sight in our pages. In 2019, iTromsø wrote about the locals in Ersfjordbotn Tourists were dismayed to find people defecating in their gardens.

More cases of shit

This continued the following year, when Sandivica beachgoers were found to be using excrement bags and toilet paper. In the nearby forest.

In the same year, iTromsø wrote about a cabin owner in Belvika in Skalsfjord. Dispose of used toilet paper Near his room.

In February this year, iTromsø wrote about another bad incident in Ersfjordboden. The bus is required at Nilaykudai.

A month later, another flash of a distressed man with his pants down. This time in Hillesøy.

What they all have in common is the demand after litter is found: “More toilets!”.

Trackless traffic?

– The same problem they struggle with in Lofoten. We do not have the infrastructure to receive many tourists, especially when they are out of town and not in a hotel. If you sleep in a tent, there is nowhere to throw your trash or go to the toilet, says Moe.

Moe also wonders if we can't at least put informational signs on how to behave in nature.

– Like me, many people may think that you should have trackless traffic in nature. Moe says leave well when you come.

But not everyone agrees.

Carl Josim Fensbeck, unit manager for parks, sports and outdoor activities at Tromsø municipality, says he has not read Mo's letter, but says on general grounds that it is highly inappropriate for people to leave where others are walking.

– This is not an unknown problem for the municipality of Tromsø, we have experienced many cases throughout the winter, he tells iTromsø.

He says the municipality is now working to map where toilet facilities are most needed and where parking spaces naturally exist at popular exits.

– Right now we do not have the capacity to install satisfactory exit latrines everywhere, so that needs to be prioritized. After all, people operate worse in bus shelters and private gardens than in nature. But again; He says we should have seen that people were able to avoid “going to the toilet” in places where people travel.

– Mo suggests clear signs of how visitors should behave in nature.

– This is a good proposal. In Kattfjordeidet, where this example comes from, we have some information boards in two parking lots. Here, for example, you can update clear information about these symptoms. The specified location is more exposed to both weather, wind and snow, so it can be difficult to place a mobile toilet there. But we have to look at such things now, he says.