Where are the Garbage Cans? Reducing Waste at Volo Bog State Natural Area

If you recently visited Volo Bog State Natural Area, you may have wondered, “Where are the garbage cans?” No, they weren’t removed by trolls. Staff at Volo Bog removed the cans as part of a new “Pack it in…Pack it out!” policy to reduce waste.

Signs at Volo Bog explain their new policy: “Without garbage cans, we’re saving your tax dollars (less garbage to be picked up), protecting wildlife (garbage cans act as magnets for wild animals), chasing less litter (garbage pulled from cans by wildlife blows across the land), and enhancing the natural view.”

At first, some staff at the site worried that the new policy might increase the amount of litter. The opposite has happened. Visitors are respecting the new rules and taking their trash out with them when they leave. The place looks nicer without trash cans, and there is less litter. Volo Bog’s success has inspired other IDNR state parks and natural areas to consider adopting the policy, too. 

This effort is part of IDNR’s larger Climate Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reach 100% clean energy by 2050. Did you know that the garbage cans in parks contribute to IDNR’s greenhouse gas emissions? Collecting the trash uses vehicles and fuel. Volo Bog’s “Pack it in… Pack it out!” policy is significantly reducing emissions from trash collection.

Stacy Iwanicki, Natural Resources Coordinator at Volo Bog SNA, is using their new policy to educate people about trash. She developed a “Waste Not Lunch Challenge” activity for the young people who visit the park on school field trips.

“Did you know the average student throws away 67 pounds of garbage, much of it food, every school year?” the student activity worksheet reads. Students are invited to assess common school lunch items and decide whether they can use it again, take home to eat later, recycle it, compost it, or put it in the trash. Here is just a sampling of the worksheet:

The activity helps students think of ways they can do better—whether at home or on field trips. The goal is to empower students to make the best choices to lighten their impact on the planet.

IDNR is considering other ways to reduce waste at state parks and natural areas, and they need your help! Next time you visit us, think of how you can reduce, reuse, or recycle your trash to lessen our impact on the planet.