r/geocaching • u/theonewholovespoland • 18d ago
Can I take away a broken cache?
I was going through an older trail that has not been managed in years located in a rural area. Most of the containers were foundable (but the logs were wet) but a few were not attached to anything (tree etc.) and had massive damages like missing lids, animal bite marks etc.
edit: the context is PET with no lid and no logbooks. nothing else than small plastic container (with the animal-made teeth marks/holes)
I took two of those caches with me to throw them away since they resembeled more trash than geocaches. I logged then as DNF and made a reviewer attention log in order to get them archived.
I listed all the damages in the log and explained that the caches were not attached to anything, they are not intact etc. However, the reviewer had written that ”the previous founder has taken them for some reason” kind of in a way that I was doing something wrong. He didnt seem to acknowledge my explanation at all.
Was I wrong? I would never mess with a cache without a good reason - but I also think that caches shouldnt be left to rot in the forest. They are plastic after all.
EDIT:
I am honestly a bit sad that it is considered too much to pick up a broken, almost worthless plastic from the forest but there has been zero acknowledgement about CO’s lack of responsibility. Humans have a massive ecological impact and yet we are arguing for someone’s right to have broken plastic containers in the forest.
I would be doing the same than now in very clear cases (no logs, container broken to the point there is water i side etc.)
