Carry In, Carry Out: Conscientious campers keep shire clean

Published on 20 February 2026

Visitors to Mansfield Shire have once again shown their conscientiousness character, helping care for Mansfield Shire’s beautiful natural environments by participating in the Shire’s Carry In Carry Out initiative in record numbers.

The initiative, which offers free camping waste disposal at the Mansfield Resource Recovery Centre across the busy summer tourism period, has resulted in the responsible disposal of 2681 bags of camping waste this summer between 19 December and 31 January.

Mayor Cr Steve Rabie offers his sincere thanks to all those who carried in and carried out this summer.

“2681 bags represents 2681 decisions to care for the Mansfield Shire environment and Council is grateful to everyone who played their part.”

“We’re lucky to live in a place surrounded by so much natural beauty. It’s a privilege which comes with the important responsibility of caring for the environment. It’s not a responsibility we take lightly.”

“The Carry In Carry Out initiative continues to be an important tool as we look after our environment, 2681 bags is roughly 55 cubic metres of waste taken away from our beautiful campsites and disposed of responsibly.”

“Thank you to everyone who helped care for the Shire this summer. To the campers who carried in and carried out, to the Resource Recovery Centre staff who work hard to keep up with a busy summer workload and to DEECA who collected waste from various locations in Mansfield Shire and brought it back to the Resource Recovery Centre.”

Staff from the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action and Forest Fire Management Victoria collected a further 15 cubic metres of camping waste from locations across the shire and dropped it at the Mansfield Resource Recovery Centre in five trailer loads.

The record-breaking numbers are all the more encouraging given large parts of Mansfield Shire were closed to tourists during the Longwood Fire emergency event.

Encouragingly, Mansfield Shire Council received no reports of roadside dumping of waste during the busy tourist period.

“The results show that the Carry In Carry Out initiative is one of our most valuable tools for looking after our shire, we’re lucky enough to have the support of outstanding community groups such as the Goughs Bay Area Progress Association who spread the Carry In Carry Out message for us whenever they can.”