Taking the green run – Italian ski resort bans plastic

PEIO, Italy (Reuters) – “Abandon plastic all ye who enter here,” reads a sign at the Pejo 3000 ski resort, which says it is the first in Italy to ban all plastic cups, spoons and straws.

Staff said they decided to act after scientists last year discovered evidence that plastic particles had contaminated the nearby Forni glacier.

Plastic straws, bottles, ketchup sachets, cups and even ski passes will be “replaced with other materials such as cellulose paste, paperboard or other materials compatible with nature,” said Marco Leo, director of the resort’s ‘Lo Scoiattolo’ mountain lodge.

Skiers and snowboarders trying the slopes said they liked the new eco-initiative.

“I’d prefer to say stop to plastic in most areas, not only in the ski areas,” said Polish tourist Jozek Nowak.

“In Poland, where I’m from, we used to have beautiful winters but now it’s not the case,” said Kasia Zielinska from Warsaw.

“We don’t even see snow anymore and we have to travel to the Alps, so I think it’s a very important cause,” she added.

Buildings in the valley already use renewable energy produced by three small hydroelectric plants. They are also warmed by wood-chips from local forests.