Yellowstone faces massive toilet paper demand during tourist season

To accommodate the more than 4 million people who yearly visit the Yellowstone National Park, in the United States, the park’s staff faces a unique and essential daily challenge: maintaining and cleaning 422 toilets spread across its vast natural landscape. The effort is not just about cleanliness, it’s about logistics on a massive scale.

Each summer, Yellowstone stocks its restrooms with over 3,500 miles of toilet paper, roughly the distance from Key West, Florida, to Seattle, Washington. “Too say the least, that all of bun wipe,” commented one source humorously, highlighting the sheer volume of supplies needed to meet visitors’ basic needs.

 

The park features nearly 90 restroom facilities equipped with a mix of flush toilets, vault toilets, and composting toilets. In response to infrastructure damage caused by visitors squatting on regular toilets, Yellowstone introduced squat toilets in 2018. The change came after reports of broken fixtures due to misuse, particularly by international tourists unfamiliar with Western toilet styles.

Managing these operations requires coordination and routine, with teams working daily to ensure that every restroom is stocked, clean, and functional. It’s a behind-the-scenes task that plays a vital role in maintaining visitor satisfaction and upholding health standards in one of America’s busiest national parks.