This past weekend we loaded up the family and headed off for our first camping trip with our new travel trailer. (We went here, and it was gorgeous.) Now, I already have guilt about camping with a trailer; is it really camping if you’re staying in a tiny little house, with electricity and water? But my guilt didn’t actually translate into willingness to spend the weekend in a sleeping bag on the ground, so there we were.

The surroundings were magnificent, the weather was unexpectedly gorgeous (it can get a wee bit toasty here in Georgia, but we enjoyed mild temps all weekend), and I had engineered our meals down to a science before we left, rendering cooking both fast and energy-efficient. Hey, if you’re going to camp with a trailer, why not plan on a crock pot meal? It takes about four cents worth of electricity to cook, with no smoke or other emissions!

It turned out that the only problem we had was… garbage guilt. Guess what the state parks tend not to have? That’s right—recycling bins, and compost heaps. At home we compost and recycle, of course. On the road, what to do? I could store the recyclables and tote them home, I guess, though that uses up precious space. And as for compostable materials… well… sorry, but I’m not up for toting that around. We threw it all away, but I felt guilty.

Now I’m wondering if there’s a better solution for our next trip. Anyone have any ideas?