As a part of Subaru's Zero Landfill Initiative, a partnership with the National Parks Conservation Association and the National Park Service, Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park has kicked off efforts to significantly cut down on landfill waste. With a focus on food, which makes up about 40% of Grand Teton's waste production, the park is making great strides towards reducing their environmental impact through composting and awareness.
Visitors to this beautiful national landmark often bring along food and drinks to enjoy while taking in the scenery - People tend to get hungry hiking over 200 miles of trails! Unfortunately, this means lot of food wrappers and containers are left behind, only to be sent to the landfill after collection. While Grand Teton has long had a compost program for organic materials, they've now decided to include non-edible food waste, pledging to reduce their annual landfill tonnage by 34% by 2030.
Jamie Varner, Senior Director for the NPCA, commended Subaru's drive to reduce the company's own landfill waste production, saying, "If Subaru can build cars using these Zero-Landfill Initiative practices, imagine what we can do at our national parks." In addition to Grand Teton, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Denali National Park in Arkansas, Yosemite National Park in California and still others across the country have also committed to supporting the cause.
The first of its kind, the Zero-Landfill Initiative has already gotten off to a great start, with pilot parks making strides towards managing landfill waste by up to 60% across the board as early as November 2017. Better composting practices have make an impact on reducing the amount of trash these parks send to landfills directly, while visitor education programs have helped reduce the amount of waste produced by the parks in general. Those visitors will likely take some of that knowledge home, increasing the initiative's reach and improving the environmental outcome in both the national parks involved and beyond.
"At Subaru, we believe in preserving the Earth's natural wonders for generations to come and are honored to continue our partnership with the National Parks Conservation Association and National Park Service to shine a light on and reduce visitor-generated waste in national parks," Denise Coogan, Subaru America's environmental partnerships manager. "The great strides Grand Teton National Park has made exemplifies the power of the Zero-Landfill Initiative and
how we can all work together to reduce our environmental footprint."
As it becomes more apparent that reducing waste is a huge component of preserving the Earth for years to come, it is the hope that more manufacturers will continue to implement programs like the Zero-Landfill Initiative. Subaru is paving the way for corporations to become more involved in conservation efforts
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