Could we crown the world’s first Plastic Free Mountain?

Well let’s be honest. All of the world’s mountains were plastic free not so long ago. Definitely within a generation or so. But if you’re a regular hiker, trail runner, biker or climber you will know that the UK’s mountains certainly aren’t plastic free anymore.

Recognising that there is a particular problem in some of the UK’s most spectacular environments, Snowdonia National Park has decided to act. We got the call at the end of last year asking: ‘Do you think we could create the world’s first Plastic Free Mountain?’

Yr Wyddfa is the highest mountain in the National Park and Eryri’s most well-known and popular summit. Standing at over 3,000 feet it’s an iconic mountain, known throughout the world. It’s a massive draw for outdoor and adventure enthusiasts and professionals, as well as tourists. 600 thousand people climb Yr Wyddfa each year. And it’s taking its toll.

Recognising that the National Park needed to do something to tackle plastic pollution on the mountain, and after seeing fellow National Park, Plastic Free Exmoor, achieve the SAS Plastic Free Communities status, project officer Alec Young got in touch. He said: “With over 600k visitors a year, and over half a tonne of litter picked up off the mountainside in just six months last year, it is more important than ever that we take action to protect Yr Wyddfa’s fragile landscape and its sustainable future”.

He is now leading the local campaign with the ambition of creating the world’s first Plastic Free Mountain. Called the ‘Plastic Free Path’ Alec is using the SAS Plastic Free Communities five-step toolkit as a framework, and bringing in other Community Allies and projects to support. The local team have already held a launch event for businesses, to sign them up as SAS Plastic Free Champions so less single use plastic is available in the area in the first place.

Getting the SAS Plastic Free Communities status is about just this. Solving the problem at source. While mountain cleans, more bins and awareness posters are all part of the plan … the most effective way to halt plastic pollution is to not create so much waste in the first place. So refill and reuse schemes are high up the agenda, as well as working with neighbouring Plastic Free Communities.

Yr Wyddfa is surrounded by a network of thriving communities, including a throng of vital mountain farms. Michelle is the Community Lead for Betws -y Coed and District, a network of towns and villages all connected to the mountain through hosting visitors. She says:

“Betws-y-Coed is known as the Gateway to Snowdonia, and pretty much anyone traveling to Eryri for a walk passess through here or its surrounding villages. Our community has a lot of accommodation providers, places to eat, or buy your supplies for a day on the hill. Whether that be food and drink supplies, or new walking boots, or that forgotten rain coat, or hat.

The aim of our Plastic Free Community is to reduce the availability of single use plastics to those visitors”.

The campaign has already gathered national interest in Wales and as we’ve already seen in Exmoor National Park, the sphere of influence of campaigns in designated areas can be powerful. Exmoor was the UK’s first National Park to get the award welcoming two million visitors every year. That means two million people every year are engaging with the plastic free campaign and calls for change. Yr Wyddfa’s 600 thousand visitors are just the start for this second National Park campaign. We can’t wait to see the impact it has.