Waste Not, Want Not: Yosemite Launches Composting and Fuel Cylinder Recycling Programs
by Annie Brackemyre
Originally published by National Parks Foundation
Part of the Subaru-funded Don’t Feed the Landfills Initiative, Yosemite’s composting and fuel cylinder diversion and recycling programs have grown tremendously over the last year. One woman, Tina Moseley, leads the charge.
“Just a heads up, it’s going to smell pretty bad,” Tina Moseley said, peering down into the compost bin’s undistinguishable mass of eggshells, apple cores, soggy paper, and mystery slop.
As the Don’t Feed the Landfills and Sustainability Coordinator at Yosemite National Park, a position funded by Subaru, Moseley built and implemented most of the composting and fuel cylinder recycling program for the park and the surrounding communities.
For Yosemite National Park, Moseley and her colleagues hope that change will look like diverting as much waste as possible and composting or recycling everything else. The impact, they hope, will help both Yosemite and the gateway communities surrounding the 750,000+ acre park.
Mariposa County, home to much of the park, has a population of 17,000, while Yosemite National Park hosts roughly 4 million visitors each year. The contrast of populations means that Yosemite National Park’s waste footprint places an outsized burden on the surrounding communities responsible for processing waste.
In response, Subaru worked with the National Park Foundation (NPF), the National Parks Conservation Association, and park concessionaires to launch the Don’t Feed the Landfills initiative at three of the country's iconic national parks – Denali National Park and Preserve, Grand Teton National Park, and Yosemite National Park.
