We love our national parks for their pristine beauty and the recreation they offer visitors. National parks are accessible, affordable, allow for shared experiences with loved ones and, of course, admiring the wonders of nature, as Great Value Vacations emphasizes.
When appreciation is lacking, one can’t help but be disappointed. On Reddit, a disheartened passerby shared his disappointment as he captured footage of wildlife eating the trash left behind by other national park tourists.
On the r/nationalparks subreddit, a Reddit user was amazed to see deer and crows rummaging around an off-road spot at Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park to find pieces of trash on the ground. He also mentioned seeing bison in Yellowstone eating trash.
“Can we all just pick up the little things off the ground as we pass by? I think that will really make a positive difference,” read the caption on the original poster.
It’s truly disturbing to hear about the growing trash problem in U.S. national parks. A recent report from the 5 Gyres Institute highlighted that single-use plastics are piling up in shocking amounts in these beautiful public spaces. In fact, the research found that 66% of the over 8,000 identifiable pieces of trash collected in 30 national parks contained plastic. This pollution is not only an eyesore, but also harmful to the wildlife and ecosystems these parks are supposed to protect.
According to Treehugger, the National Park Service handles over 100 million pounds of waste annually. In Yosemite National Park, over 4 million visitors visit the park annually, according to the National Park Service, leaving behind about 2,200 tons of trash annually. This prompted parks like Yosemite to create the Zero Landfill Initiative, which encourages sustainable behavior from both park visitors and employees, such as reducing plastic use by using refillable cups.
According to a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, global plastic waste is expected to almost triple by 2060. It is estimated that about half of all plastic waste will end up in landfills and less than 20 percent will be recycled.
Plastic and other debris have been found in other national and state parks in the U.S. and around the world, causing damage and loss of biodiversity and pollution of waterways.
By finding ways to spend our free time responsibly, we can enjoy the wonders of nature while keeping its inhabitants and the environment healthy, for example by reducing our waste.
“Yellowstone was so disappointing for reasons like this,” wrote one Redditor.
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