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Posted 7 years ago by Jamie Hurschler
We've made a big change this winter and we thought you would love to hear about it. Have you skied with us yet this season? If yes, have you felt our new trail maps? Strange question, I know. They feel different don't they? They have a velvety kind of texture, a matte finish and simply feel more futuristic. Although they might feel futuristic we have taken things back to the stone age. Our trail maps this year are actually made out of ground up stone and are not a traditional paper of any kind. Panorama's ski maps contain 85% calcium carbonate (limestone) and recycled concrete, and 15% HDPE (high density polyethylene) a non-toxic binding agent.
Here is our map sitting in a fish tank for a full day at the Toronto Ski Show without any degradation or smearing ink. Amazing eh! Anyone who has ever had a soggy wet map in their pocket can appreciate this!
We asked Eric Stein General Manager, Business Development at Stone Paper Solutions about the new relationship with Panorama and he had this to say. "We're thrilled to support Panorama's continued environmental sustainability efforts, and applaud the decision to print their 2017-18 trail maps on our 100% eco-friendly Stone Paper. As the first Canadian ski resort to eliminate the use of pulp paper for its maps, Panorama is making a positive statement about reducing the ski industry's carbon footprint: Actions speak louder than words, and Panorama is actually doing something about global warming."
Here's where we get a bit technical. The HDPE in our trail map paper is photo-degradable. That means the molecular structure will break down under exposure to UV light, even in a landfill. During this process calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is released and returns to the earth, while the HDPE gradually breaks down further, and is almost fully converted into water, carbon dioxide and biomass in about two years.
While recycling in general is an admirable goal, the process requires significant energy to support collection, sorting and transportation, and can therefore be somewhat counterintuitive. Because Stone Paper breaks down as described above, we also support and recommend, disposing of our trail map in the regular waste stream. If you prefer to recycle our map, the HDPE (the non-toxic binding agent holding the calcium carbonate and recycled concrete together) is 100% certified for the #2 recycling stream. You may need to advise your local recycling agency on this.
Really, the best thing to do is reuse your map again and again all season long (you can even pass it off to a friend). When the season is over you can pin it to your wall as a keepsake, plant it in your back yard, throw it in the waste or #2 recycle it. For the record, although our trail map will eventually photo-degrade throwing your map from the chairlift or out a car window is absolutely not cool.
Watch this video to discover more about Stone Paper:
Video and graphics provided courtesy of Stone Paper Solutions.
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Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated showers.
Freezing level: 3000 metres.
Ridge wind west: 15 km/h gusting to 45 km/h.
8:00AM 8 October, 2024
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