In May 2020, Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) published a study showing that in Switzerland, around 14’000 tonnes of plastic seep into the soil and water every year. Nearly 2’700 tonnes of this waste are due to littering (discarding waste in nature), that is, to dumping or negligence. Beyond microplastics, many other types of waste also end up in nature, including in the mountains.

Initiated by Club Alpin Suisse (CAS), the #cleanmountains campaign aims to raise awareness among hikers and mountain hut guests about waste production and waste management. This campaign was created with the support of Summit Foundation and Zurich Insurance.

Around fifty mountain huts were equipped with dispensers of 100% recycled plastic trash bags, with a request to guests to use them for their own waste, but also for any waste they come across along the way.

Waste collection actions are organized each summer near certain mountain huts, often as part of the Clean-Up Tour.

A series of posters complements these concrete measures to raise awareness among hikers and mountain hut users about the environmental impact of waste. Three posters, three messages on how to reduce your waste in the mountains. The posters are available in German and French in our online shop or can be downloaded.