Colorado USA Goes Green For Skiing

Colorado USA Goes Green For Skiing

Well known ski resorts in both the US and Europe know their clients care increasingly about the environment and climate change – skiers after all enjoy their time in the open – and the ski resort authorities have been doing a lot to make their areas and facilities environmentally friendly.
n
nVail Colorado for example operates one of the largest recycling programmes of any ski resort in North America, and their on-mountain recycling programme is the largest of its kind in North America.
n
nVail Resorts who are the owners responsible for the initiative, have five mountain resorts. Each ski holidays resort receives monetary contributions of $1 from each skier per season pass, online lift ticket transaction and night spent at the resort in the Colorado and California locations. Since the programme began, Vail has received more than $550,000 in guest contributions. The National Forest Foundation (NFF) has matched the contributions by more than $275,000. All funds are used for projects that aim to restore, improve and protect Vail’s neighboring National Forests.
n
nThe effort put forth by Vail Resorts owners, employees and skiers alike gives a glimpse into the number of skiers who are concerned about the environment. The preservation of National Forests is a major factor in the success of not only Vail Resorts but other ski resorts worldwide. The environment that the skiers are helping protect is the same environment that attracts them to Vail Resorts to begin with.
n
nVail’s five major ski resorts are some of the most visited and most family friendly resorts in North America. Families can learn very valuable lessons about wildlife preservation, recycling and environmental issues. Currently, Vail’s recycling programme recycles an impressive about 70 percent of on-mountain waste. The amount of waste recycled equals nearly one pound per guest. About 100 tons of material per month are recycled during an average ski season.
n
nSome of the most notably environment friendly parts of the ski holiday resorts are:
n
n* Beaver Creek’s Spruce Saddle Lodge. The lodge is the first ski holidays resort restaurant to become a Certified Green Restaurant by the Green Restaurant Association. The GRA is a national non-profit organization that dedicates its time to setting sustainable environmental standards within the restaurant industry. Spruce Saddle Lodge is one of the first resort restaurants to be recognised by the GRA for multiple environmental breakthroughs. The ski holidays restaurant uses recycled, tree-free, biodegradable and organic products throughout the lodge. It also maintains impressive water efficiency, energy and conservation levels and recycling and composting programs.
n
n* Keystone Composting at Keystone Ranch Restaurant. Keystone’s composting programme began in 2002 and has grown immensely over the years. More than 500 pounds of kitchen waste per week is being diverted from landfill. Combined with efforts from the Keystone Conference Center, food scraps and wood shavings create the soil used in landscaping throughout the resort. Similar composting programs are being established by other resorts.
n
n* Heavenly Waste Reduction, in partnership with California’s El Dorado County, diverts about 482 tons of recyclable waste from landfills each year. Surrounding communities are also encouraged to keep yard waste out of local landfills. An annual event, Compost Your Combustibles, educates and encourages citizens to participate in recycling and composting efforts.
n
n* Vail Resorts and RockResorts. Recycling programmes are in place for all employees and guests of any Vail Resorts or RockResorts. They promote water conservation to guests by promoting the reuse of towels and linens for multi-night stays. Restaurants on the resorts use biodegradable, compostable and recycled food and beverage containers and flatware. The resorts recycle beverage and food containers and paper items used in all resort operations. All areas of the resorts use environmentally friendly cleaning products that are not only safer for the environment, but for guests and employees as well.
n
nResorts worldwide are becoming more environmentally aware and passing their knowledge on to their guests. With the help of their guests, they are able to conserve more water and recycle and compost more waste in a broader range of areas of resort operations. The efforts put forth by these resorts and others around the world help protect the environment and wildlife that attracts their visitors, and might just help the snow fall for a little while longer.

Posted Date: 2009-01-19 02:58:47