Poland’s Tatra National Park ‘drowning in litter,’ officials warn
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13.03.2025, 12:35
A recent cleanup on a short trail revealed over three kilograms of trash. Photo: PAP/Grzegorz Momot, Tatra National Park via Facebook
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Authorities at Poland’s Tatra National Park have warned visitors to take their litter with them after uncovering 3 kg of trash strewn along a popular tourist trail.
A recent cleanup of the Dolina ku Dziurze, a protected trail less than a kilometer long, revealed plastic bottles, food wrappers, tissues and other garbage thoughtlessly discarded by careless hikers.
Fed-up officials have now warned that, in addition to being illegal with fines ranging from €199 to €1,190, the rubbish is a potential deathtrap for wildlife.
Small animals often crawl into discarded packaging, becoming trapped and unable to escape, and processed materials and human food can be harmful, even deadly, to other wildlife.
Officials said: “Every piece of trash, whether a wrapper, bottle or tissue, belongs in a backpack, not in the forest.
“If you bring it in, take it out.”
No trash bins to protect wildlife
The park’s authorities also said the reason the Tatra National Park does not provide trash bins is that waste left in bins attracts wild animals, disrupting their natural behavior and endangering both wildlife and visitors.
They said: “Even if the bins were emptied with the greatest care and very frequently, and tourists did not leave waste around them, the smell of garbage would still be present in the environment.
“Bins also attract the attention of animals. This leads to serious problems: it changes their behavior and poses a threat to tourists.”
They added: “Once lured out of the forest, they tend to stay near the trails.”
Installing trash bins at park entrances would also be risky, they said, as it could encourage animals to venture beyond the forest, creating further dangers for both wildlife and people.
“As a result, they fall prey to predators or starve when ‘easy’ food runs out. There have also been cases where predators drawn by trash bins have posed a threat to visitors,” the park warned.
