Plastic-Free Parks

Our national parks are drowning in a rising tide of plastic waste.  Single-use disposable plastic bottles are the single biggest component of national park waste streams. They are damaging human health and our environment with disproportionate impacts on low-income and communities of color.

Mountains of plastic bottles burden wildlife, create greenhouse gases, and cost taxpayers to haul away. As crowds return to record levels following the pandemic, a tsunami of plastic waste will again swamp our parks.

In June 2022, the Department of the Interior announced a phaseout of single-use plastics in national parks over the next ten years. Now, we must work to ensure the order is carried out as quickly and effectively as possible.

By ensuring there are adequate sources of free potable water available for park visitors and outlawing sales of plastic water bottles at all national parks, we can cut discarded plastics by 75%. Our national parks can set a “green” example and encourage all public lands and the planet take a break from plastic.

The Biden administration has pledged to make national parks plastic-free over the next ten years. But why wait? Park concessioners are willing to stop stocking disposable plastic items now, but they need direction from the National Park Service.

Read our petition, delivered to National Park Service Director Chuck Sams, to expedite the plastic-free timeline for national parks to 2 years, not ten! Read the petition»