Pick Up Tour
The environmental project at Merano 2000
Did you know that a banana peel takes 1 to 2 years to decompose completely, whereas a plastic bottle takes 100 to 5,000 years?
Meran 2000 Bergbahnen AG and the Hafling-Vöran-Meran 2000 Tourist Board are constantly striving to keep the mountains clean. The name comes from the South Tyrolean dialect word aufklauben ("to pick up") and serves as a call to collect litter. The awareness campaign is carried out in cooperation with young people from the Jugenddienst Bozen-Land (Bolzano Rural Youth Service) and was held for the eighth time this year.
From Monday, 27 July, to Friday, 31 July 2026, the young participants were out across Meran 2000 collecting litter left behind on the mountain.
On 28 July, the initiative also inspired numerous visitors to take part. Equipped with sustainable gloves and a rubbish bag, around 160 people joined the clean-up campaign. Participants were able to exchange their filled rubbish bags for a small surprise at the end of the activity.
Key figures
Figures from the latest litter-picking campaign in 2026
5 days
26 young people
50 kg of litter collected
DECAY PROCESS
True mountain lovers and conservationists naturally take their rubbish back down to the valley with them. Nevertheless, environmental pollution in the mountains remains a problem. This is particularly true above the tree line, where the cold and lack of humus mean that waste decomposes very slowly. Even seemingly harmless items such as tissues can persist there for decades and disrupt the delicate balance of alpine nature.
Some examples
Banana peel 1–2 years Tin can 50–500 years
Orange peel 1–3 years Nylon bag 60–200 years
Paper handkerchief 1–5 years Aluminium foil 200–400 years
Cigarette butt 2–7 years Baby nappy 500–800 years
Chewing gum 3–5 years Plastic bottle 100–5,000 years
DOG WASTE BAGS BELONG IN THE BIN
As well as litter, dog poo bags piling up along the paths are also a major problem. Nylon takes over 60 years to decompose in the natural environment. It is particularly important to pick up dog poo, as it can become a source of infection for cows through the parasite Neospora caninum, which may lead to miscarriages and deformities in calves. Dog owners do their best to clear up after their pets, but they often struggle with disposing of the bags, which they are reluctant to stow away in their rucksacks and so end up leaving by the side of the path. As soon as a single bag is left there, it quickly becomes a gathering point for other bags.
The bins at the valley and mountain stations of the ski lifts were upgraded last year, and additional waste bins have been installed, which are emptied regularly. Unfortunately, bins cannot be placed in remote locations, as these quickly turn into rubbish dumps and feeding grounds for wild animals.