Key figures :
3500 volunteers
55 participating resorts
30 tons of waste collected
56% of recyclable waste
57% tourist waste
Once again, volunteers responded to our annual call to keep our mountains clean and showed up in force for the annual spring-cleaning sessions organised in the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Vosges, the Massif Central and also in the UK with the Ski Club of Great-Britain. Many thanks not only to these volunteers, but also to those who organised these positive actions.
In 2009, 3500 volunteers slipped on their gloves and walking boots, grabbed their bin bags, and went up into the mountains, collecting some 30 tonnes of rubbish. This number of volunteers is in itself an extremely positive point, since last year saw only 2500 volunteers for the annual spring clean: Clear proof that raising awareness is key in getting people involved. Similarly, this year has seen a rise in the number of participating resorts, up to 55 from 52 in 2008. Congratulations to all the organisers, tourist information offices, local councils, associations, NGOs, ski lift companies, and all others who were involved in making the 2009 annual clean-ups such a success.
However, on a less positive note, this year’s results in terms of the rubbish and waste collected were not so positive. This year’s collection vastly exceeds last year’s, at30 tonnes, compared to last year’s already impressive 17 tonnes. Moreover, there are still large amounts of older pieces of rubbish in and around the resorts and on the slopes.
As always, this year’s spring clean yielded an interesting combination of rubbish, including cans, plastic wrappers, single-use products, bottles, paper, barrels, batteries, metal and cables, PET bottles and the ever-present cigarette butts. These latter deserve a special mention, once again, for the sheer quantity of them found under chairlifts and around chalets, restaurants and car parks: Up to 30 000 cigarette butts can be found under just one chairlift.
Mountain Riders and all the spring cleaning volunteers get together each year to help raise general awareness regarding the impact of rubbish and waste on the mountains, with the aim of ensuring that leaving rubbish on the slopes becomes a thing of the past. It is vital for everybody to:
And, to take things further, we can all try to favour:
For a list of clean-up dates and participating resorts, go to:
http://www.mountain-riders.org/_ramassage/index_en.php
For more information, contact Mountain Riders:
Tel: +33 954 66 86 83
stewart@mountain-riders.org
