Waste Management Outlook for Mountain Regions

Gudauri ski resort, Georgia, South Caucasus. Photo © Björn Alfthan

obtained from reservoirs on the slopes or pumped up from the valley.The use of snowcannons can lead to increasingwater stress and the use of groundwater resources. The practice has been criticised by environmental groups – the use of snow cannons in Switzerland is estimated to use as much water as the city of Basel during one season (SRF/Swissinfo, 2015). • Expanding or developing ski resorts at higher altitudes: another way of adapting to decreasing levels of snow is to move or expand ski resorts to higher terrain including onto glaciers, which can further disturb fragile ecosystems (Rixen and Rolando, 2013). Many ski resorts have made efforts to reduce waste and make their operations more environmentally friendly. The Sustainable Slopes Program, for example, is a voluntary environmental initiative in North America which encourages ski resorts to reduce, re-use and recycle waste as well as tackle potentially hazardous waste (NSAA, 2005). TheWhistler Blackcomb ski resort in Canada is striving for zero-waste through an approach which combines responsible purchasing, re-use and recycling. Organising and building venues and related infrastructure for major winter sporting events, such as the winter Olympics, also may carry waste implications, especially where there is little existing

infrastructure and the timeframe for completion is short. Sochi’s candidature to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games contained a “Zero Waste System” which included the process of converting waste into energy andbuilding supplies. Despite this promise, illegal dumping and especially construction waste dumping took place prior to and after the games on a significant scale (Sobol, 2015).

Skiing in Patagonia, Argentina. Photo © iStock/Eric Schroeder

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