Plastic Free Parks
Adventure Scientists is partnering once again with 5 Gyres for their annual Plastic-Free Parks campaign, a project to track waste trends in U.S. National Parks and federal lands. Data collected by nationwide volunteers will contribute to a report that details the materials, items, and brands of waste found across federal lands, along with recommended, science-based solutions.
Any volunteer with a smartphone can visit a national park or NPS-managed land this summer. No special skills are needed to contribute to this project; just a smartphone and an adventure!
How do I get started?
More project information
In 2011, the National Park Service began implementing a policy to phase out the sale of single-use plastic water bottles. More than 20 national parks, including Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Zion, successfully stopped the sale of plastic water bottles, eliminating nearly 2 million disposable plastic water bottles and saving up to 111,743 pounds of plastic and 141 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. 🎉 Unfortunately, this policy was reversed in 2017, but 5 Gyres is working to bring it back!
On World Ocean Day in 2022, the Department of the Interior announced its plan to phase out single-use plastic on federal lands, including national parks, by 2032. Data from the Plastic-Free Parks TrashBlitz will reveal which items/companies are the worst offenders in our national parks, which can help the Department of the Interior determine where to focus first. The report can also be used as evidential support to lobby additional members of Congress to sign on in support of the Reducing Waste in National Parks Act. Check out the results from the 2024 Plastic Free National Parks Trashblitz initiative.
When logging plastics, how do I know which number it is? Check out this handy resource.
When and where?
All U.S. National Parks and NPS-managed lands (national monuments, national historic trails, national historic sites, national recreational rivers, national memorials, etc.) are eligible.
When selecting your adventure location, remember that as an Adventure Scientists volunteer, you’re part of a team that goes on adventures! Into the canyons. Along the backcountry trails. Off the map and into the places that rarely get surveyed—but matter just as much. So, yes, hit those National Parks, but go beyond the scenic overlooks, adventure further, and get data from your favorite National Park places.
You have until October 31 to adventure far and wide, making this Plastic Free Parks initiative extend its reach further with your intrepid spirit!
Join the project!
Combine science and adventure, join our elite team of Adventure Scientists volunteers to protect our National Parks.
Adventure Scientists recruits, trains and manages volunteers to gather high-quality data at scale for scientific partners (NGOs, government agencies, researchers and more) who are focused on solving critical environmental challenges.