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A trail wanders up towards snow-capped mountains. Surrounding the trail, autumn colored leaves cover the landscape
Trail Creek at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve
NPS Photo
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NPF & Tupperware® Support Park’s Recycling and Waste Reduction Plan

Protecting the vast landscapes of our national parks and their environment is a critical component of the National Park Foundation’s (NPF) mission. Inspired by a shared commitment to waste reduction, NPF partnered with premier Resilience & Sustainability sponsor Tupperware® in 2021 to fund the development and creation of an innovative and strategic new park-wide recycling plan at Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (WRST). Designed to help the park reduce waste and educate employees and visitors on the proper recycling process, the plan organizes the park’s key infrastructure and programming initiatives into three phases.

Tupperware® helped launch the plan by funding the installation of a water bottle filling station at Slana Ranger Station. Water refill stations have assisted parks across the nation in reducing single-use plastics and allow visitors to be part of the sustainability solution by bringing their own refillable water bottles.

WRST has continued to build on Tupperware’s investment, completing the first phase of the plan in 2022. Initial steps included purchasing recycling bins, creating proper signage for the bins, establishing a volunteer lead recycling expert for each park building, and executing employee recycling training sessions.

Recycling trailer outside a one-story building
Recycling trailer at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve (Tupperware)
A person drops a can into color-coded recycling bins
Recycling receptacles indoors at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve (Tupperware)

Educating park staff and visitors on proper recycling procedures is a critical component in an effort to reduce waste. Through the planning process, park staff learned the correct baling methods for cardboard and plastic, as well as the specifics of what materials can and cannot be recycled. Knowledgeable park staff and proper signage help visitors support efforts to reduce waste or eliminate it before it enters the park. As a premier partner of NPF’s Resilience and Sustainability initiative, Tupperware® is committed to reducing waste before it begins. Like the project at Wrangell-St. Elias, Tupperware’s support through its nonprofit, Tupperware Brands Foundation, allows NPF to fund critical waste reduction infrastructure projects in parks that will help keep parks green for years to come.

“It’s so impactful to support initiatives that help park goers to have the best visitor experience, while also enabling them to help the planet by reducing waste,” said Cherisse Stover, senior manager, Tupperware Brands Foundation and Social Impact. “Tupperware’s purpose is to nurture a better future every day, and if we can help consumers reduce food and single-use waste in their daily activities, that is such a win for the parks, the environment and the planet as a whole.”

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