Usually, when visiting a natural park, one expects to see lush nature, green forests, and crystal-clear lakes. In recent years this is not always the case as problems with pollution advance. Often, visitors are disappointed by finding their favourite spots littered with cans, wraps, and bottles. To tackle this issue in the US, 5 Gyres Institute decided to take the matter in their own hands and developed a digital app called TrashBlitz that records trash in national parks.
If a visitor, spots a pile of trash in Yosemite National Park, for instance, via TrashBlitz they can log the location and any cleaning activities they perform. The collected data then will be used to make recommendations to help curbing down waste and push for a more environmentally friendly legislation. It is gathered via a software that identifies the amount of plastic in rivers and on the streets. This data not only shows how much plastic is trashed but also which are the most common brands.
According to TrashBlitz data the most common single-use plastic items recorder are bottles, bottle caps, wipes, cigarette butts, and wraps. The organization also established that the most commonly used brands are Coca Cola, Pepsi, Marlboro, Camel, and Gatorade.
The idea behind the initiative is to track pollution trends in US Nationals Parks as well as federals lands. Additionally, the app enlists volunteers that can help in the trash collection.
“For three years, TrashBlitz has served as a valuable tool in tracking waste trends across national parks. From this data, we know that single-use plastic is the worst offender, and we’re seeing the same brands commonly identified in waste audits all over the world,” said Nick Kemble, a program associate at 5 Gyres. “Systemic changes, like implementing reuse and refill systems and shifting to better alternatives, can have a real, immediate impact on reducing waste in national parks.”
According to the 2024 Plastic-Free Parks report, “volunteers led TrashBlitz activations at 58 sites spanning the United States and Territories from Chugach National Forest in Alaska to El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico.” Amongst the sites surveyed for the reports are Yellowstone National Park, Kings Canyon National Park, Bryce Park, El Yunque National Forest and more.
Volunteers analysed 12,646 pieces of trash in the platform of which 76,9% were plastic, the report stated. Moreover, paper was the second material that was found, consisting of 12,7% of the total amount of trash gathered.
“The TrashBlitz data from previous years underscores the urgent need to address plastic pollution in our national parks. Now is not the time to cut essential resources and personnel responsible for waste management, education, and park maintenance,” explained Alison Waliszewski, the director of regional policy and program development.
