The Snowdonia Society is organising its annual Snowdon litter clear-up on Thursday 4 October. This year, they are concentrating their efforts on the summit area and the Llanberis path, and would love to get some BMC members along to assist.

Snowdon attracts over 700,00 walkers and climbers each year and is probably the most popular high mountain in the UK. In order to both raise awareness of the issue of litter in the mountains of Snowdonia and to remove some of the detritus left behind by walkers the Snowdonia society annually organises a litter clear up of some of the main paths.

On Thursday 4 October, Snowdonia Society volunteers will return to the slopes of Snowdon for their annual clear up of rubbish, with volunteers taking the train to the summit and clearing the main paths of litter on their descent.  This year, as always, the charity has committed to recycle as much as possible of the waste removed from Wales’ highest and most visited mountain.

The majority of rubbish collected on last year’s Snowdon litter pick was in the form of plastic bottles. The Snowdonia Society hope that as single-use plastic drinks bottles continue to grow in popularity, visitors commit to recycle as much of their plastic waste as possible.

“We would like to see not only the plastic bottles collected on Snowdon recycled but plastic bottles from the 8 million visitors to Snowdonia every year. If each visitor buys just one plastic bottle, that is an awful lot of waste! We are calling on all visitors to Snowdonia to responsibly dispose of their plastic bottles and other waste so they can be recycled rather than end up in landfill,” explains Jenny Whitmore, Conservation Snowdonia Project Officer.

As a charity the Snowdonia Society supports and benefits from the introduction of the plastic bag levy introduced by the Welsh Government in 2011.  The 5p charge has resulted in a 22% reduction in plastic bag use in Wales, generating income for charities and a reduction in plastic bag waste. Jenny also adds, “I would like to see a similar system in the near future that could be applied to an equally environmentally harmful product, the ubiquitous plastic bottle.”

If you would like to join in the clear-up on Snowdon, or for further information on volunteering in Snowdonia please contact jenny@snowdonia-society.org.uk or call 01286 685498.

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