A bag of Cheetos gets dropped and left on the floor. Seems inconsequential, right? Hardly. Rangers at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in southern New Mexico describe it as a “world-changing” event for the tiny microbes and insects that call this specialized subterranean environment home.

A snack bag left on the floor of Carlsbad Caverns National Park exemplifies how a piece of trash can disrupt a sensitive ecosystem.

The government agency overseeing all 63 of the country’s national parks has previously released statistics showing that it sorts through an average of 70 million pounds of garbage a year, while a spike in visitor numbers post-pandemic has exacerbated the problem.

Park rangers and volunteers collect tons of trash left behind by visitors each year as part of an ongoing battle to keep unique ecosystems from being compromised

Inside the huge cavern at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico, visitors are only allowed to consume plain water. However, a recent park visitor dropped an open bag of Cheetos, wreaking havoc on the cave’s ecosystem.