Composting and Recycling in Yellowstone National Park

I've always enjoyed the awesome recycling options in the national parks that I've visited.  At Grand Canyon, in addition to recycling, they offered a drop box for unwanted camping supplies which were donated to a local Boy Scout troop.

It shouldn't be surprising that monuments to our natural wonders should be ahead of the curve when it comes to resource protection and conservation.  Being from Montana though, where recycling isn't readily available in many locations, I have always been impressed by the recycling program in Yellowstone.  In most of Montana its hard or impossible to recycle glass, say.  In Yellowstone it is no problem at all.  I know recycling is a part of most, if not all, the national parks, but Yellowstone is the one I am most familiar with and know the most about.

In Yellowstone National Park a person can recycle plastic #1-7, glass in all colors, office paper, cardboard, newspapers, magazines, phone books, propane canisters, bear spray canisters, empty aerosol cans, aluminum cans, metal, and paperboard.

On our last visit we noticed a new dumpster in the row, one for compostable trash.  Huzzah!  Since we only live a few hours from the park we always take our pepper cores, onion skins, etc. home  with us in a ziplock bag to add to our own compost pile.  Now we won't have to.  Plus, the folks who are coming from around the world--and who don't have the option to just take it home--can now return their food scraps to the nutrient cycle, too.  Good work, Park Service!
Matt cleaning out the trunk of empty beer bottles and yogurt cups in the Madison Campground.

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