The Don’t Feed The Landfills Initiative spans 60 national parks and is a critical factor in keeping waste out of the parks. Photo courtesy of PRNewsfoto/Subaru of America, Inc.

  
The National Parks Conservation Association (NPAC), in partnership with Subaru of America, Inc., has announced the results of their coordinated effort with the National Parks Service to reduce the amount of waste that national parks send to landfills through the Don’t Feed The Landfills Initiative. Launched in 2015, the initiative has helped the National Park System eliminate 22 million pounds of waste through reduction, recycling, composting and educational initiatives while engaging park visitors to lessen their environmental footprint.

The initiative launched in three parks and included Denali National Park and Preserve, Grand Teton National Park and Yosemite National Park. 

“The Don't Feed the Landfills Initiative has been an important undertaking at Subaru for nearly a decade and has led to the elimination of 22 million pounds of trash through recycling, composting and educational initiatives,” said Alan Bethke, senior vice president, marketing at Subaru of America, Inc. He added, “We are incredibly grateful to our partners at the National Parks Conservation Association, National Park Foundation, National Park Service and others for helping us develop and implement innovative waste reduction solutions. Together, we have reduced the amount of waste taken to landfills by half at Denali, Grand Teton, and Yosemite, and we are proud to have provided a scalable waste reduction roadmap that supports the national parks' sustainability efforts for future generations.”

Today, the program spans 60 parks and is a critical factor in keeping waste out of the parks, according to Subaru. The National Park Service manages over 80 million pounds of waste each year.  The initiative encourages the promotion of sustainable food packaging, reusable containers, visitor stewardship and educational programming, and has led to enhanced recycling and composting infrastructure, dedicated staff for educational outreach and standardized bin labeling to increase recycling participation. 

Subaru also provided grant funding to the National Park Foundation to support engagement programs, and operational and infrastructure improvements, including over 1,000 new bear-proof containers and nearly 30 water-filling stations, according to Subaru.

“We were so proud to join forces with industry leader Subaru of America, the National Park Foundation and the National Park Service to address the significant waste challenges facing our national parks,” noted Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association. 

She added, “Through our nearly 10-year partnership on the Don't Feed The Landfill Initiative, we've helped keep millions of pounds of waste out of our parks and the landfills, made it easier and more clear to recycle, and connected with millions of Americans about ways they can help lessen their footprint when they explore our parks. The systems and infrastructure we've put in place will benefit national parks, and all who visit them, for decades to come.”

Through the implementation of lessons learned from the three pilot parks, the National Parks Service said it has implemented best management practices around waste diversion, reduction, and aligned with the National Park Service's strategic plans to achieve these goals, including the phase-out of single-use plastics. 

Through these actions and applying the best management practices, the number of single-use plastics kept out of landfills more than doubled at the three pilot parks, according to the National Parks Services. These efforts provide a roadmap for more national parks, including Big Bend and Zion which are already making significant strides to implement successful sustainable practices and reduce operating costs, according to the National Parks Services.