Talk about a hot mess.
Old Faithful has been blowing its top for generations — but these days, Yellowstone National Park workers have another eruption to worry about: tourist junk.
As of early September, Yellowstone’s Geology Team had removed more than 20,100 pieces of trash, 5,600 rocks and sticks, and 280 hats from its hydrothermal areas, according to the Yellowstone Volcanic Observatory’s USGS page.
That makes this a record-setting year.
The park covers a staggering 2.2 million acres — or about 3,472 square miles of nature to tidy up. It gets 4.5 million visitors annually.
And we’re not just talking candy wrappers.
The astounding haul includes five AirPods, six Invisalign retainers, 15 fake fingernails, three golf tees, an inhaler and an Uno card.
Someone even left a glob of glittery pink children’s slime, which wound up stuck to chunks of geyserite.
“The issue is made worse by the park’s high winds: unexpected gusts easily blow away tissues, maps, food wrappers, and even heavier items like sunglasses and hats,” said Margery Price, physical science technician with the Park Geology Program.
Kids are apparently contributing too. Crews have recovered eight mini race cars, three bouncy balls, 22 action figures, six Junior Ranger badges, two rubber ducks, a tie-dye fidget spinner and — somehow — a McDonald’s Happy Meal toy from 2010.
Yellowstone is apparently hungry for accessories too.
Cleaners recovered 54 camera-lens caps, 47 hair ties, 42 pencils, 36 pairs of sunglasses, 20 hotel key cards and 17 pacifiers.
“And contrary (apparently) to popular belief, hot springs are not wishing wells,” Price said.
Workers collected more than $18 in coins, including pesos, yen, euros and Canadian dollars.
Staff favorites include Polaroid photos, Pokemon cards, Yellowstone pressed pennies and a mysterious two-inch copy of “The Vampire Diaries.”
But throwing stuff around Yellowstone’s thermal features is no joke.
Coins, trash and other foreign objects can clog vents, alter runoff and damage delicate microbial communities.
Morning Glory Pool, not far from Old Faithful in Upper Geyser Basin, famously changed color during the 20th century, partly because visitors threw trash and other objects into it.
