The National Park Foundation and Subaru of America Celebrate Waste Reduction Efforts in National Parks

The National Park Foundation (NPF) and Subaru of America are celebrating 11 years of partnership and nearly a decade of collaboration to address waste reduction and support public awareness efforts in national parks through the Don’t Feed the Landfills initiative.

In coordination with the National Park Service (NPS) and National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), NPF and Subaru of America have invested in recycling operations, composting, public education and outreach, and waste reduction analysis across the National Park System. Since launching in 2015, over 24 million pounds of waste has been eliminated from landfills while increasing recycling best practices among visitors.

“The values shared by the National Park Foundation and Subaru help us ensure we can continue to support innovative solutions as we look to make parks models of conservation and preservation,” said Dawn Rodney, chief external affairs officer, National Park Foundation. “Together with partners, we can reduce the environmental impact and protect our parks’ resources for the enjoyment of visitors – today, tomorrow, and in the future.”

The initiative launched at three of the country’s most iconic national parks – Denali National Park and Preserve, Grand Teton National Park, and Yosemite National Park in collaboration with nearly 60 park partners. These early efforts provided a comprehensive waste reduction roadmap for the initiative to expand to more parks including Zion and Big Bend.

Due to increased visitation and limited landfill space, Big Bend National Park was looking for long-term interventions and solutions that would ensure their ability to keep the park clean. Through the Don’t Feed the Landfills initiative and Subaru and NPF’s support, the park was able to address these issues by expanding centralized recycling center operations, dedicating part-time or seasonal staff to improving recycling efforts, installing more and/or larger recycling bins at campgrounds to improve utilization, replacing faded recycling labels with durable and more legible signage, and much more.

"Along with our partners, Subaru is committed to leaving a legacy of protecting and conserving the earth for future generations," said Alan Bethke, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Subaru of America, Inc. "We're proud to have worked hand-in-hand with the National Park Foundation to divert millions of pounds of waste through this initiative. Together, we're dedicated to reducing waste, conserving resources, and preserving natural spaces as we work towards a more sustainable future for all."

In addition to resilience and sustainability work, and as the largest corporate partner of the National Park Foundation, Subaru of America has provided over $65 million in support to protect national parks since 2013. During that time, Subaru of America has funded projects to expand access in national parks for historically excluded communities, supporting groups like Black People Who Hike, who have hiked six parks across the country.

As part of the partnership, and for the 12th consecutive year in a row, the National Park Foundation (NPF) is participating as a national charity partner beneficiary in the 2024 Subaru Share the Love® Event. Running from November 21, 2024, through January 2, 2025, the campaign connects people everywhere to the value of experiencing the outdoors together and provides the opportunity to give back to national parks across the country. Through the annual Subaru Share the Love Event, Subaru of America continues to help support the National Park Foundation by providing critical funding to programs and projects that help protect America's more than 430+ national parks.

Learn more about the 2024 Share the Love Event and Subaru’s support of NPF’s important work.