WINTER PARK, COLO.—Winter Park Resort is stepping up its efforts to ensure good stewardship of natural resources through its new environmental initiative, Connexion. The Connexion program’s goal is to inform, involve and educate resort employees, guests and the community about the environment. Connexion includes energy reduction efforts with the purchase of sustainable wind energy credits, the utilization of single-use items made from renewable resources in the resort’s on-mountain restaurants, and an expanded recycling program.
The new Eagle Wind chairlift is the latest beneficiary of wind energy, continuing Winter Park’s commitment to power all future lifts with renewable energy. This year, the resort will purchase 400 MW/hr of wind energy credits, enough to power both the Eagle Wind chairlift as well as the Super Gauge Express chairlift, installed last year. This will add to the resort’s ongoing total energy reduction of 6,100,000 KWH through all energy conservation efforts, including the use of the AreaNET program.
The combined energy reduction efforts of the resort’s energy management program, AreaNET and the purchase of wind energy credits will prevent the emission release of about 8.18 million pounds of carbon dioxide from conventional power generation during the 2006-2007 year. Additionally, Winter Park Resort’s use of wind power will also decrease the amount of carbon monoxide emitted into the atmosphere by 329.5 pounds, sulfur dioxide by 15,860 pounds and nitric oxide by 10,980 pounds.
This season, the Connexion recycling program will expand to include more locations around the resort as well as increase the types of goods recycled. Large collection bins will be placed throughout the resort, inviting guests and employees to recycle all paper, glass, aluminum, plastic and cardboard products. Smaller single item recycling containers will also be available to capture more common items like plastic bottles and aluminum cans.
Winter Park Resort’s Food and Beverage department leads the resort’s recycling efforts with several new and exciting initiatives. Three on-mountain restaurants without dishwashers will purchase environmentally-friendly, non-toxic, and completely sustainable single-use products like cups, plates, bowls and cutlery made from renewable resources including corn, sugar cane and potato starch. All of these products will be purchased locally from the Boulder-based Eco-Products Inc. Six base area restaurants with dishwashing capabilities will continue to use reusable serving products including all cutlery, glassware and plates.
Connexion is a compilation of the latest additions in a series of energy conservation and recycling efforts made by Winter Park Resort.
Contact Darcy Morse at DMorse@skiwinterpark.com for more information.
Also go to Winter Park Resort.
