I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss this idea of collection bins. They can be sized so they do not fill up in a matter of days. How fast they fill up would depend on the size and number of bins. Also, some number of people would still carry their bag out.
Bins would help prevent people from storing their plump presents on the trail to be picked up on the way down. They could use llamas or mules to empty the bins more frequently without the impact of helicopters. On the negative side, the bins could get pretty stinky downwind.
As for any deposit/credit or punitive approach, they would need to finish their NEPA documentation to implement anything like that. This is all discussed in the thread on "
Solar Toilets vs Carrying Wag Bags." Because they circumvented the environmental process, they can't issue a Forest Order requiring the use of a wag bag let alone require a deposit for one. It's strictly voluntary, but there really is no good alternative, so in effect it's a mandatory system. Then there's the cost of implementing a scanning system in an outdoor environment and the likelihood of it being vandalized by people who are not so happy with the wag bags in the first place.
In my opinion, they should install a modern solar toilet at Outpost camp. Contract out the maintenance to a Lone Pine packer using llamas or perhaps mules. Keep the Rangers out of it as much as possible. Maybe try the bins up at Trail Camp until they build a new toilet there once they realize it can be done. They still argue that it can't work despite success elsewhere under even more challenging conditions.
The reality of the situation is that hikers are not united on the issue and the Rangers do not want to maintain toilets. One Ranger was quoted referring to picking up errant wag bags as, "job security." Another thinks they should hire more Rangers just to pick up bags. Really they have more important stuff to do than deal with human waste. Contracting out toilet maintenance would get them out of this mess and provide the best environmental protection. But some hikers insist this heavily impacted area is some kind of pristine wilderness and they ignore that there are toilets in wilderness areas all over the Sierras.
