GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK — A pilot program designed to make recycling simpler and more accessible in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) has turned out strong first-year results, according to organizers.
The program was introduced in June 2025 with a 20-foot recycling station in Colter Bay Village, where visitors can dispose of hard-to-recycle materials. A news release from Keep America Beautiful announced that the agency’s recycling collaboration with TerraCycle and Grand Teton Lodge Company was supported by a grant from the National Park Foundation (NPF). Aside from the Colter Bay recycling station, collection points were also installed at various locations throughout the park for fishing line and cigarette butts.
With near-record high visitation, GTNP saw an overall increase in park waste, but initial data from the program indicates a reduction in waste sent to a landfill. Even with more visitors, the recycling pilot was associated with a 15% increase in waste being recycled. The news release states that Colter Bay Village saw a reduction in landfill waste up to six times that of comparable campground areas in the park.
“National parks are among America’s most treasured places, and they also face very real waste and recycling challenges, especially as visitation grows,” said Keep America Beautiful Vice President of National Partnerships David Wheeler. “This pilot shows that when we make recycling easier, more visible and more intuitive, people respond. It is an important first step in expanding practical recycling solutions that help protect beautiful places like Grand Teton, and this approach can be adapted for other public spaces across the country.”
The recycling station in Colter Bay was created from a converted shipping container and offers a location for visitors to dispose of traditional recyclables like aluminum cans, glass bottles and cardboard. Keep America Beautiful said that those materials are recycled through GTNP’s municipal recycling service. At the site, people can also discard hard-to-recycle materials including snack and candy wrappers, rigid plastics like pill bottles, coated paper like Tetra Pak cartons, and flexible plastics like grocery bags.
The pilot program also included three bins near fishing access points for anglers to recycle used fishing line, as well as 30 receptacles for recycling cigarette butts. More than 3,400 pounds of hard-to-recycle materials were collected and recycled through TerraCycle. Many of the plastics were recycled into raw materials to be used in manufacturing of new products, rather than sent to a landfill.
“The National Park Foundation is proud to support innovative solutions that help protect national parks and improve the visitor experience,” said NPF Director of Programs and Partnerships Ashley McEvoy in a statement. “This pilot reflects the kind of collaboration that can help parks reduce waste, engage visitors, and advance long-term stewardship.”
Wheeler told Buckrail that the grant period from NPF is complete, and that Keep America Beautiful is working with TerraCycle and Grand Teton Lodge Company to manage costs for this summer.
“We are hoping to build on the first season’s success by continuing to engage more visitors to utilize the recycling station,” Wheeler said via email. “It will remain in place through at least the 2026 season, and we will be talking with our partners … about potentially adding other locations in the park.”
