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The environment needs your protection! Each year, visitors to National Parks generate more than 100 million pounds of trash that is sent to landfills. What change can you make to make sure you #DontFeedTheLandfills?

What Small Thing Can You Do To Help The Environment Today?

Did you know plastic bottles are one of the MOST harmful things for the environment? We throw away enough plastic every year to wrap around Earth [four times!](https://www.reusethisbag.com/reusable-bag-infographics/the-truth-about-plastic.php) Switch to a personal bottle and refill at water-filling stations when you visit a National Park!

Purchase a BPA-free water bottle and ditch the plastic bottles.

Recycling your food scraps by composting is so easy you’ll wonder why you haven’t been doing it already. Plus, it’s dangerous to the environment to send compostable materials to landfills, as they produce [harmful gases.](http://compostingcouncil.org/admin/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Keeping-Organics-Out-of-Landfills-Position-Paper.pdf) And when you’re visiting a National Park, keep an eye out for specially marked compost containers to deposit organic waste.

Start your own compost pile.

There’s so much excess we don’t need when it comes to to-go coffee cups: straws, cardboard sleeves. It all adds up! Americans alone throw away [billions](http://www.carryyourcup.org/get-the-facts) of disposable coffee cups in a year. (Plus, the polyethylene plastic lining in paper coffee cups makes them [extremely difficult](http://earth911.com/home-garden/what-not-to-put-in-the-bin/) to recycle.) If you’re visiting a National Park, using a personal travel tumbler will ensure that you’re cutting down on unnecessary waste.

Bring your own coffee mug to your coffee shop.

Sounds easy, right? But it might actually be harder than you think. The average human throws away [4.3 pounds](https://center.sustainability.duke.edu/resources/green-facts-consumers/how-much-do-we-waste-daily) of trash per day, mindlessly. Take one day this week to attempt your challenge. (And if you’re taking a trip to a National Park, do your part to make it trash-free!)

Try not to produce any trash for 24 hours.

Whether stocking up for a park trip or doing a weekly grocery run, support your local farmers market! This will help reduce your carbon footprint, as farmers markets have less packaging and therefore less plastic waste. Learn more about the benefits [here!](http://www.cuesa.org/learn/10-reasons-support-farmers-markets)

Pick up food at the farmers market.

Reusable containers are great for minimizing waste during a park tip, especially if you buy in bulk and carry it in your own reusable packaging, as opposed to using single serve or individually wrapped items. Get inspired by the many ways you can reuse your household items and help keep trash out of landfills right [here.](http://www.recycling-guide.org.uk/reuse.html)

Reuse as much as possible.

Quiz design by James Devogelear / All images via Thinkstock

In honor of the National Park Service Centennial, Subaru has teamed up with the National Park Conservation Association to introduce the <a href="http://www.subaru.com/csr/environment.html#!/2016/05/25" target="_blank">Zero-Landfill Initiative</a>, an effort to reduce trash generated by National Park visitors.

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What Small Thing Can You Do To Help The Environment Today?

Share your own tips on how to reduce trash by using #DontFeedTheLandfills on Twitter or Instagram.

How do you stay environmentally friendly? Spread the love by sharing your tips below!

What Small Thing Can You Do To Help The Environment Today?

Share your own tips on how to reduce trash by using #DontFeedTheLandfills on Twitter or Instagram.

How do you stay environmentally friendly? Spread the love by sharing your tips below!

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