A team at Yellowstone National Park has collected over 23,000 pieces of trash as of early October, including a wide range of items such as international coins, golf tees, and an inhaler, from geysers, hot springs, boardwalks, and surrounding areas.
Aside from paper and plastic debris, the park's geology team has retrieved approximately 10,700 rocks and sticks, as well as over 360 hats, camera lens caps, hair ties, and pacifiers. Other unusual items found include five AirPods, three Delta flight pins, and a single Uno card, as well as dental retainers and rubber ducks.
It has been a record-setting year for trash collection, which is managed by the park's geology team. The team is trained in safe hydrothermal navigation practices, according to the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
The large volume of visitors to the park, which exceeded 4.7 million in 2025, according to the National Park Service, contributes to the buildup of debris in high-traffic areas such as Old Faithful and the Midway Geyser Basin. Some of the garbage collected, such as food wrappers and maps, may have been deposited unintentionally due to strong winds in the park.
The presence of foreign materials in the park's hydrothermal features can cause harm by clogging the water supply, polluting the water, or blocking its runoff channel, according to the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
NTC Report coverage is based on reporting from the original publisher.
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