In a quote taken from lnt.org's own web site:
All seven of the LNT principles are sensible, and all must be adaptable to the situation. In all cases, the land manager's expressed policy trumps them.
So specifically:
Hiking on trail, yes, I will pack out apple cores, orange or banana peels, coffee grounds, and so on. If I discard them anywhere close to the trail, even buried 6-8 in deep, they will draw nuisance wildlife to the trail. This goes many times over anywhere near a shelter! (Hikers overlooking this are the reason that shelters are infested with vermin.)
Hiking off trail, I may not be quite as careful with material that will decompose readily, and dispose of the inedible parts of food in the same manner as used food. But I hike in a well-watered area where anything organic decomposes fast. If I were a desert hiker, I'd be a lot more careful. And it's ludicrous to worry about apple cores when hiking through an abandoned orchard.
Above treeline, I try hard to leave nothing with any more impact than pee, and try to deposit that on an inorganic surface.
More generally, since this has digressed into a discussion of disdain for rules in general:
I see that lnt.org has backed down on some of the more ridiculous rules that they once tried to lay down in
https://lnt.org/learn/7-principles. I can recall they were pushing hard at one point for people to avoid trekking poles because they left scratches in the rock - apparently nobody told whoever came up with that one about crampon marks. (I would be in favor of a related rule: 'Avoid dry tooling except where safety demands it.') They also seem to have backed down on their insistence on muted colours for clothing and gear, to protect the viewscape of other hikers - I'm damned if I'm going to give up my orange in hunting season! In my opinion, their presentation of those rules on an equal footing with ones like, 'dispose of poo in a cathole, not on the landscape' cheapened the entire message. I'm glad to see they've become more selective.
I'm pretty happy with what I see there now - with the caveat that the land manager's policy will take priority. (For example, I hike in some places where "stay on the trail" is the rule; in others where "avoid hiking in single file or following the tracks of others, to avoid creating use paths" is the rule, so the "durable surfaces" rule has to be adaptable.)
I've certainly found that the idea of an
eighth principle is thought-provoking. I may have to reconsider things like geotagging pictures, and I've already resolved to change my ways and share GPS tracks of bushwhacks only in private. (On the other hand, I think that updating OpenStreetMap to show established trails is a good thing overall; it will encourage visitors to use the established trails and not make their own, or help the lost to get back to established trails.) While I don't think that any of my trip reporting is likely to create any kind of 'buzz' that will lead to overuse, I recognize that others have been surprised by it, so I may have to reconsider. And I have to balance this with the fact that writing about my travels for at least my friends and family helps me to organize my own thoughts about it.
I don't like the slogan, because the only way to leave no trace is not to go. But it is what it is, I can live with it.
And I'm sure that this level of thought about the matter will get me labeled as 'contrarian' But I'd counter with:
Don't follow rules blindly. Understand them, and understand what they're for.
Don't break rules out of ignorance. Learn them, know them, break them only deliberately.
Don't break rules out of defiance. Have something you will achieve by breaking them.
Don't break rules and expect to get away with it. Be prepared to accept all consequences, both natural (for instance, impact on the land for LNT) and social (for instance the consequences of lawbreaking).
Don't break rules if you can bend them. Many rules come with, 'and here's where you go to get a waiver'. Don't take 'no' for an answer from anyone who lacks the power and authority to say 'yes'.
Then, break the rules. Because some rules are nonsensical, impossible to comply with, or in conflict with other rules.
If you summarize this as "I don't like rules, so there!" you're missing the point.