Every year Americans use about 50 billion single-use plastic water bottles. Out of those 50 billion single-use water bottles, only 1 out of every 5 make it into recycling. Crystal Mountain Resort in Washington State has taken the step to help reduce our environmental impact by banning the sale of single-use plastic water bottles mountain-wide.

Crystal Mountain Resort is encouraging all guests to bring their own reusable water bottle to the mountain to refill at any of the four refill stations located in the mountain lodges. 

Reusable water bottles can also be purchased at the Right Angle Sports Shop or any of the mountain restaurants. We will be offering a 28-ounce collapsible water bottles starting at $3.50 each (same price as a plastic bottle of water used to cost) and one-liter Platypus collapsible water bottles at $8.95 each. Both water bottles are printed with the Crystal Mountain logo, BPA free, made in the USA and part of Cascade Designs, based out of Seattle.

In 2011, Crystal installed it’s first water refilling station below the Summit House Restaurant. The next two followed in 2012 and were installed in the Campbell Basin Lodge and the Day Lodge. Another was added to the Day Lodge the spring of 2016.  These water stations have helped save over 275,065 plastic water bottles from being purchased and thrown away.

“We invested $10,000 on these refilling station which I believe is a step in the right direction to helping reduce plastic water bottle waste.  We hope to encourage our guests to simply refill their water bottles, especially now that it’s made easy with these stations located in all of our facilities.” – John Kircher, Owner/General Manger of Crystal Mountain.

The water refill stations were purchased from Elkay.

Top 3 Reasons this is Good for you and the Environment:

1. You Save Money

A plastic single-use water bottle at Crystal Mountain normally cost $3.50 at the Mountain Market. Now, water is free from any refill station. If you drink the recommended 64-ounces a day and have a 18-ounce water bottle, this saves you roughly $12.25 a day!

2. Fresh Mountain Water Tastes Good

Crystal Mountain’s water supply is sourced from both Silver Creek and Elizabeth Creek, located right on the mountain. The water flows into Crystal’s intake structures located near the base of the Gold Hills chairlift and is treated and filtered. The water is then stored in a 100,000 gallon reservoir and conveyed downhill to the distribution system.

3. Less Waste In Our Landfills and Waterways

Reducing our sale and consumption of plastic on the mountain is one simple step we can take as an operation to help our impact on the environment around us. Our creeks and rivers run into the Puget Sound which then leads into the Pacific Ocean. This one step can help keep our fish, marine life and ocean life healthier one refill at a time.

Overall, we hope that this initiative of banning the sale of single-use plastic water bottles will help our guests and employees rethink about using single-use plastic bottles and choose to use reusable items whenever possible, especially with water.

Where You Can Purchase Reusable Water Bottles:

• Right Angles Sports Shop
• Cascade Grill
• Bullwheel Restaurant and Bar
• The Summit House
• Campbell Basin Lodge

Refill Station Locations:

• Summit House
• Campbell Basin Lodge
• Two stations in the Day Lodge in the base area

For more information, please visit http://crystalmountainresort.com/more-information/environment/.