Plastic waste is not only found in the oceans, but also in the mountains.
One of the reasons for this is the abrasion of minibobs.
District
- Gisela Böhm is a nature lover.
If she goes into the mountains, she always has a bag with her.
If she sees garbage being carelessly thrown away, she picks it up.
“I always collect something,” she says.
The pensioner was out on the Hörnle last month.
For the first time she chose the toboggan run as a descent.
When she looked down at her hiking boots, numerous small screws, plastic rings and plastic scraps jumped into her eye like from a plane.
A week later she made similar discoveries on a tour to the Pürschling in Unterammergau. Böhm is concerned. The plastic parts "lie on the paths, are washed into the ditches and meadows with meltwater and rain, then into the streams, the Ammer, the Ammersee," says the woman who lives by the latter body of water.
Böhm also spoke to the hosts from the Pürschlinghaus about their finds. Hubert Spindler and his partner Christine certainly know about the plastic on the way to their hut. Year after year something remains of the winter. But probably a little more last season. "A lot of people toboggan where there was little snow," says the landlady. The result: rocky ground shaved off the bobsleds. Broken crampons were also left behind. “Many don't take the good Grödel”, complains the landlady. For example, hikers who rarely go into the mountains or who simply want to try out crampons. Usually the youth group of the German Alpine Club clears away the plastic waste. But because of Corona, that was not possible last year.
Hubert Spindler sees the bigger environmental problem elsewhere.
Tire wear and fuel consumption of many hikers are "three times worse", he judges.
If he looks at the car park for hikers in Unterammergau, for example, he sees numerous cars with foreign license plates parked there.
There are days when “a car with a Garmisch number is exotic”.
From the point of view of the administration, the problem must be taken very seriously.
Lukas Eitzenberger
Robert Stumpfecker also noticed the micro-plastic waste on the Pürschling. During a hike on Father's Day, the mayor of Unterammergau noticed the blue, red and yellow particles between the pebbles. “Loud abrasion.” He doesn't see a general problem, but emphasizes that the particles get into the valley and the watercourses with the meltwater. He hardly sees any possible solutions. After all, the small particles are difficult to pick up.
Even in the municipality of Bad Kohlgrub, people don't think about collecting. "From the administration's point of view, the problem is to be taken very seriously," emphasizes Lukas Eitzenberger. But even the manager does not believe that immediate intervention is necessary. In his opinion, there is no concrete danger, not even for the fauna: "Since animals usually do not look for food on the paths, but in the forest, the risk is low in our assessment." associated, possibly with high financial costs, it should only be possible to remove it by replacing the gravel, explains Eitzenberger. However, they wanted to talk to the local council about putting up more signs that warn to be respectful of nature.
In Oberammergau the situation looks a little different. Due to Corona, the AktivArena could not open at the piston. However: "We have groomed the slopes, managed the parking lot and opened the toilets," says managing director Klement Fend. He didn't see many bobsleighs in the snow, "we had far, far more ski tourers than tobogganists". Don't surprise him either. The piston is not particularly attractive as a toboggan hill in winter - in contrast to summer with the Alpine Coaster. Much plastic waste was not able to collect in the cold season with or without bobsled, as the on-site staff “always cleaned up with us, just as we do in normal operation,” emphasizes Fend.
There are also no complaints from Oberau. Colorful relics of winter cannot be found there. In any case, Stefan Fischer looks calmly at the area at the Rabenkopf ski lift. There is no plastic problem. The man from the building yard doesn't even think about it for long. Children in particular are active on the slope - when there is enough snow and with their parents by the side.
The question arises: What can be done to avoid leaving plastic behind when tobogganing on the Hörnle or to lose no more crampon screws when hiking on the Pürschling? Higher quality material would certainly be a solution to the iron question. But with the Zipflbobs? Chips fall where there is tobogganing. At least when the snow conditions are bad, cut through the first stones from the forest roads. Stumpfecker relies on the common sense of the people and suggests "to appeal to the leaders to sledge only over a closed blanket of snow". Only reason is such a thing - one of the central lessons from the corona pandemic.
Antonia Reindl