Don't Feed the Landfills Initiative Eliminates 22 Million Pounds of Waste from National Parks Nationwide

CAMDEN, N.J. -- Subaru of America, Inc. and the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) today announced the impressive impact of their partnership and celebrate the legacy of the Don't Feed the Landfills Initiative. In coordination with the National Park Service (NPS), and the National Park Foundation (NPF), Subaru and NPCA collaborated with many community partners to significantly reduce the amount of waste that national parks send to landfills. Since launching 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 Don't Feed the Landfills Initiative started with three pilot parks—Denali National Park & Preserve, Grand Teton National Park, and Yosemite National Park. The automaker, known for its zero-landfill expertise and deep commitment to the environment, partnered with the non-profit national park advocacy group NPCA to launch the project. Together, with the expertise of NPS and NPF, Subaru, and NPCA, engaged park concessionaires and community stakeholders to develop innovative waste reduction solutions and help design infrastructure systems to ensure sustainable and resilient park operations.

Alan Bethke, Senior Vice President, Marketing at Subaru of America, Inc.: "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. 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."

The initiative's successes and long-term impact can be attributed to the collaborative community-based approach in and around the pilot parks. With a network of nearly 60 park partners supporting the effort, the ripple effects of these efforts extend to nearby park communities. The challenging work that began at Denali, Grand Teton, and Yosemite has changed how millions of visitors experience America's national parks and plays a critical role in keeping waste out of them.

From sustainable food packaging to reusable containers, visitor stewardship, and educational programming, the initiative led to enhanced recycling and composting infrastructure, dedicated staff for educational outreach, and standardized bin labeling to increase recycling participation. Furthermore, 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.

Theresa Pierno, President and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association: "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. 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."

The National Park Service manages over 80 million pounds of waste each year. Taking the lessons learned at the three pilot parks, Subaru and the NPCA developed best management practices around waste diversion, reduction, and management 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 amount of single use plastics kept out of landfills more than doubled at the three pilot parks. 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 while reducing operating costs.

The Don't Feed the Landfills Initiative is part of Subaru Loves the Earth®, the automaker's environmentally focused philanthropic pillar of the Subaru Love Promise. Subaru is the largest corporate donor to the National Park Foundation and has provided over $55 million in support since 2013. As a premier partner of NPF's Resilience and Sustainability initiative, Subaru will continue to provide funding to enhance and improve environmental stewardship efforts across the National Park System in 2024 and beyond.