Yr Wyddfa: Can Wales' highest mountain really go plastic-free?

The highest of Yr Wyddfa rises 1,085m (3,560ft) supra the Welsh landscape.

It is the highest constituent successful Britain until you get to Scotland's Ben Nevis, 260 miles (418km) distant arsenic the crow flies.

The remoteness of Yr Wyddfa, oregon Snowdon arsenic it is besides known, surely makes it 1 of the astir pristine environments successful the land.

But probe shows it is arsenic overmuch nether siege arsenic galore much populous places from a increasing menace to the earthy satellite - plastic.

A survey carried retired for Eryri - besides called Snowdonia- National Park recovered microplastics successful the ungraded samples each the mode on the Llanberis way to the summit.

Significant amounts were besides recovered astatine the highest itself, to accidental thing of the measurement of disposable litter near down connected the slopes.

For Alec Young, the Plastic Free Yr Wyddfa officer, this enactment is personal. Born and bred wrong the park, helium returned aft immoderate years distant with a inheritance successful sustainability, looking to person "a much section interaction connected the spot that I love" and "change it for the better".

There is nary proposition of biology constabulary guarding the entrances to Eryri, removing single-use integrative from unwary visitors.

Instead, Alec and the project's partners are looking to promote behaviour alteration successful visitors, locals and concern owners, immoderate of whom are already connected board.

The purpose is to importantly trim each litter connected the mountain, with a absorption connected single-use plastics.

Fiona and Rob Nicholson tally Plas Coch Guest House successful Llanberis.

Previously headteachers successful southbound eastbound England, they "wanted to halt being tourists who came to the area" and lend to the section system and environment.

With 95% of their guests coming specifically to ascent Yr Wyddfa, the mates person paid adjacent attraction to however they tin assistance walkers to devour and portion without having an biology impact.

Fiona said: "We launched our packed luncheon initiative, and called it substance your upland day, due to the fact that we thought it's not conscionable a lunch. It's got to get you up the upland and backmost down safely arsenic well.

"We inquire guests what sandwich they would similar and we marque that, and past we person a brownish insubstantial container to enactment that in, and past we laic retired those different things they tin instrumentality with them.

"We've got metallic h2o bottles that they tin take. We've got flasks and inquire them what blistery portion they'd similar successful there.

"We person caller effect and we bash nonstop them up the upland with a greenish composting container and inquire them to bring backmost everything that they instrumentality with them."

There is besides a recycling presumption astatine the impermanent location wherever guests tin deposit their utilized insubstantial bags and immoderate nutrient discarded - oregon brushed plastics if they person immoderate of their ain - for composting oregon recycling. They besides person a h2o refill presumption for passing tourists.

They person stopped offering thing that comes successful single-use plastic, specified arsenic packs of biscuits oregon UHT beverage pots, and replaced them with caller home-baked flapjacks, Welsh cakes and jugs of caller beverage which guests tin assistance themselves to.

The mates said making specified changes had saved them astir £1,000 a twelvemonth connected discarded charges, arsenic they nary longer request to wage for commercialized garbage collection.

"Every clip we've done thing to region single-use plastics, it feels similar we've improved the prime of what we do," said Rob.

John Harold, manager of Cymdeithas Eryri, the Snowdonia Society, said the organisation had been astatine the "sharp end" of clearing litter from the upland and the wider nationalist parkland for implicit 50 years.

"Over clip it's go progressively dominated by azygous usage plastics," helium said.

John cited a litter postulation carried retired connected conscionable 1 conception of way which yielded respective 100 disposable drinks bottles.

"When you multiply that crossed the country and crossed the year, these are phenomenal numbers," helium said.

Cymdeithas Eryri removes astir a tonne of litter from Yr Wyddfa and the main tourer hotspots successful Eryri each year. As astir of it is airy integrative waste, it amounts to a immense volume.

He said the task was astir "respect", "pride" and "inspiring people".

He added: "This isn't a spot wherever you tin constabulary your mode to an answer."

Snowdon Mountain Railway operates the visitant bid and Hafod Eryri, the café astatine the top, arsenic good arsenic a fig of outlets astatine the mountain's base.

It is preparing to resume journeys each the mode up Yr Wyddfa and to reopen the café successful June aft astir 4 years of pandemic-induced closure.

The railway's commercialized manager, Vince Hughes, said his archetypal gathering with Alec had opened his eyes to areas of imaginable change.

"I deliberation a batch of radical mightiness deliberation it means integrative bottles, portion bottles etc, but arsenic helium explained, if you look astatine our different retail areas, the magnitude of single-use integrative was going unnoticed," Mr Hughes said.

One "easy fix" was magnets arriving individually wrapped successful integrative which was instantly discarded erstwhile they went connected display.

"Why are they putting them into these packets that we don't privation and nobody's using?" helium asked.

Supplying a café astatine the apical of a upland without its ain h2o proviso is nary mean feat if you anticipation to debar integrative usage completely.

The café needs 10,000 litres of h2o transported up by bid each time to screen its ain uses and toilet requirements, and cannot abruptly power to refilling bottles for people.

Revamping supplies successful the café volition besides beryllium a challenging task. Switching to cans has not antecedently been a occurrence due to the fact that they are not resealable.

But solutions are being explored. A h2o borehole institution is to marque preliminary investigations connected whether it could extract drinking h2o from the upland itself, which could beryllium a gamechanger for the café.

Alec said it was important not to "demonise" integrative which, erstwhile utilized appropriately, tin beryllium fantastically useful.

The instrumentality alternatively volition beryllium to promote visitors to trim usage and region the single-use integrative they bring with them.

"A batch of it is around, however bash you person radical to hole better, deliberation differently, 'refill earlier the hill', reuse and recycle," Alec said.

So what bash visitors to Yr Wyddfa marque of the initiative?

"We're each astir sustainability - I deliberation that's a truly affirmative message," said Catherine Munton, from Newcastle upon Tyne.

She and hubby Lee were not amazed to perceive the magnitude of rubbish collected. "It's atrocious that radical don't instrumentality it home," added Catherine.

Michelle Marshall and Sharon Langton, from Middleton, adjacent Manchester, said much bins could help.

"Why don't radical conscionable enactment [rubbish] successful their bag. Everybody has got a back-pack - conscionable instrumentality it home," added Sharon.

Derek Littlejohn, from Aberdeenshire was disappointed by the magnitude of integrative rubbish helium had seen.

"Having conscionable walked up determination and seen however overmuch integrative is connected the existent upland itself, it's a shame to spot it successful that benignant of state," helium said.He supported going plastic-free.

"Anything that stops that from happening would beryllium a fantastic happening to do."

"I consciousness that arsenic a hiker you astir apt person a occupation to admit each the quality that you are hiking in," said Andrew Franco, from California."Reusable h2o bottles, thermoses - large ideas. You don't request integrative bottles."If you've got snacks, wrapper them up successful room insubstantial oregon parchment insubstantial - it's easy. You don't request integrative for immoderate you are taking with you."

Additional reporting by George Herd.