Yellowstone Thermal Areas Collected Over 20,000 Pieces Of Trash

I have misplaced many items through the years. My sunglasses, hats, fishing gear, and enough pocket knives to supply several sporting goods stores. But I have never misplaced my Invisalign retainer in a Yellowstone hot spring. But that cannot be said for everyone.

The Geology Department at Yellowstone National Park has been clearing up trash from the park’s hydrothermal areas this summer. By mid-September, the crew had picked up over 20,100 pieces of trash (along with nearly 5600 rocks and sticks) and over 280 hats.

What are People Doing at Yellowstone?

A few of the items make some sort of sense. Crew members were able to collect 54 camera lens caps, 47 hair ties, 36 pairs of sunglasses, 20 hotel room key cards, and 17 pacifiers.

It is easy to see how that could happen. You are standing on the boardwalk taking pictures and then...whoops.

Then the list of stuff starts getting kinda weird.

Along with other items, crews collected 6 Invisalign retainers, 15 artificial fingernail tips, 5 AirPods, golf tee pegs, an inhaler, rubber ducks, Pokémon cards, and one UNO card. Even a chunk of pink children's slime got stuck to geyserite.

Somewhere there is a kid who will be forever puzzled as to what happened to his UNO reverse card.

Yellowstone Hot Springs Are Not Wishing Wells

By now the crews have collected more than $18 worth of coins this year. According to the geology department of Yellowstone, "hot springs" are not "wishing wells."

While simply keeping Yellowstone looking nice is important for the visitor experience, foreign objects can create problems such as blocking water flow or creating unwanted chemical contamination or sediments in these very delicate natural formations. The Morning Glory Pool is a well-known example of this. For years, visitors tossed all sorts of junk and coins into the pool, which led to changes in its color.

Yellowstone contains over 10,000 thermal features. So we should feel fortunate to have such a unique treasure basically located right here in Montana.

Next time you come to visit, hold onto your hat, sunglasses... and your dentures.

Also, please do not toss your UNO cards when you leave.