Sustainability Efforts at Alton Towers

[Thameslink Rail]

Solar panels would be an interesting discussion point, I think there would be a return on investment from cheaper electricity bills and they don't require planning permission so they would just need to buy and install them.

 

[rob666]

Theme parks and funfairs are not sustainable by their very nature.
All that concrete, steel and tarmac for no actual material benefit to our basic needs, just the desires of those that can afford it.
Then all that energy to power the rides (rapids...eek!), then all the other stuff listed above.
The whole of the leisure industry is on similar shakey ground environmentally.
Our hobby is a long way from green sadly.

 

[jon81uk]

The Freestyle cup issue is annoying. I've got one floating about from Parque Warner Madrid, why does it matter what it says on it if I'm paying Towers for activating it? That and they don't supply full sugar Mezzo Mix or Coke in them.

I get why they wouldn’t allow a cup from a different brand to work, I wouldn’t expect a Disney cup to get activated at Universal either.

The full sugar coke not being available is because of the sugar tax, they would need to charge extra for Coke and that adds an extra complication so most places just don’t offer refills of it. Pizza Hut, Harvester, KFC and several other places have stopped serving the full sugar Pepsi so they don’t have to have two different soft drink prices.

 

[DistortAMG]

Solar panels would be an interesting discussion point, I think there would be a return on investment from cheaper electricity bills and they don't require planning permission so they would just need to buy and install them.

But where are you going to find huge amounts of space that would be required to put an almost unnoticeable dent in their electricity bill. Rides by their very nature are very power hungry. It takes lot's of energy to launch a 7.5 tonne car to 60 mph in 2 seconds, lift a 20 tonne vehicle and 16 people up a steep incline, or pump 15 thousand litres of water a minute.

So much power, an absolutely huge array of solar panels would be required to even put a small dent into that bill. I am sure planning permission would be required if you were installing solar panels on an industrial scale like what would be needed.

Using them to augment power to shops and other amenities might work, but again, it is like weeing into the wind when you have so many rides, using so much power.

I think sustainability efforts would be better suited else where than electricity as it is not something the park can really make more sustainable. The sustainability from that side would come from outside the Towers, in the form of the national grid becoming more greener as a whole. It is the same story for most other companies and factories that use electricity on an industrial scale.

 

[jon81uk]

So much power, an absolutely huge array of solar panels would be required to even put a small dent into that bill. I am sure planning permission would be required if you were installing solar panels on an industrial scale like what would be need

Do the same as Disneyland Paris have and cover the car park.

Disneyland Paris Embarks on One of the Largest Solar Canopy Energy Projects in Europe

Today is World Energy Day, and we have some big news that we’re excited to share! Disneyland Paris is proud to announce that it is building one of the largest solar canopy plants in all of Europe! Pictured below, the solar plant will be developed

disneyparks.disney.go.com

 

[DistortAMG]

Disneyland Paris is not in a designated area of outstanding natural beauty though.

I bet the quoted 17% part of powering the resort is more hotel, catering and axillary stuff, rather than main ride hardware. The last thing you want is high power switch gear having to constantly switch as the sun comes in and out, that damages industrial motors, a good cause of unreliability ect. Not to mention their huge power requirements to begin with.

That all aside, it is a good idea and I love it. I just cannot see it happening at Alton Towers due to it's location and many other factors, which are very very different than at Disneyland Pairs.

 

[Thameslink Rail]

I'm hoping I've got all my maths right (!)
Duel's roof is about 2500sqm, when it's sunny solar panels produce about 150-200W per sqm, that means it would produce 375-500kW of electricity. For comparison a Huss Enterprise requires 90kW. Whilst yes they wouldn't produce as much electricity in cloud cover, remember that in summer, sunrise can be before 5am and sunset can be after 9pm so there would be a good 6 hours when they can produce electricity when the rides are not running which can be used to power the hotels or put into the grid for profit.

 

[jon81uk]

I bet the quoted 17% part of powering the resort is more hotel, catering and axillary stuff, rather than main ride hardware.

Equally if AT did go down the solar power route they could use them to power the hotel(s). The car parks are reasonably sheltered from external views so I think they could do if if they really wanted to, but I'm not sure if the cost of the panels would actually be more than the savings in electricity.

Although I think the better things right now they could look at are single-use plastics such as shampoo/shower gel in the hotels, the cups in pizza/pasta, cups in welcom-inn etc.
Merchandise also should be truly useful and last a good amount of time, they shouldn't be selling tat people will just throw away a few weeks later.

 

[DistortAMG]

Equally if AT did go down the solar power route they could use them to power the hotel(s). The car parks are reasonably sheltered from external views so I think they could do if if they really wanted to, but I'm not sure if the cost of the panels would actually be more than the savings in electricity.

Although I think the better things right now they could look at are single-use plastics such as shampoo/shower gel in the hotels, the cups in pizza/pasta, cups in welcom-inn etc.
Merchandise also should be truly useful and last a good amount of time, they shouldn't be selling tat people will just throw away a few weeks later.

Again, in an area of outstanding natural beauty, I think they are going to struggle to get any substantial installation, especially seeing as they are quite a blot of the landscape. It could be argued no more than a carpark, but I think they will struggle for any meaningful installation due to the aforementioned location.

I could be wrong however, I would like to think I am actually, But I am sceptical at best.

 

[jon81uk]

Again, in an area of outstanding natural beauty, I think they are going to struggle to get any substantial installation, especially seeing as they are quite a blot of the landscape. It could be argued no more than a carpark, but I think they will struggle for any meaningful installation due to the aforementioned location.

I could be wrong however, I would like to think I am actually, But I am sceptical at best.

You might be right too, as it would be the reflective nature of the panels which makes them more obvious as a glint through the trees.

As Thameslink suggested, covering the roofs of showbuildings would be a better first step.

 

[JAperson]

Yes I think as @Thameslink Rail says there is plenty of roofs you can cover with solar panels, I mean how big is the dungeons roof? There is plenty of space for the odd panel, sure it won't solve everything but towers have power problems as it is, so every little will help. I would be very much in favour of them putting solar panels on show building roofs, and actually any roof that isn't really in full public view.

 

[Islander]

...sure it won't solve everything but towers have power problems as it is, so every little will help.

Solar panels would absolutely not help with their electrical issues at all, which in part are down to the high and uneven electrical demands of rides. Solar power is very much not the technology to resolve this.

 

[JAperson]

Solar panels would absolutely not help with their electrical issues at all, which in part are down to the high and uneven electrical demands of rides. Solar power is very much not the technology to resolve this.

I disagree, they can use the solar panels to power other things than rides, freeing up electricity for rides, it's not ideal but then again I don't see a better solution coming from anywhere.

 

[Alsty]

Solar panels would absolutely not help with their electrical issues at all, which in part are down to the high and uneven electrical demands of rides. Solar power is very much not the technology to resolve this.

If they installed solar thermal panels (not solar photovoltaic panels) on the roofs of their hotels they could use that to heat the water for the hotel rooms.

 

[s_g_k]

With enough reliability issues at the park already, I wouldn’t really put much trust in a flat ride powered by the sun, and I don’t think we’ll ever see one in the U.K. with a bunch of solar panels next to it.
Whilst the grid increases its percentage of renewable energy, the park could do lots of things such as:

- solar panels on all show buildings to power lights and other non-ride related equipment etc
- EV charge points (why this still hasn’t happened is beyond belief)
- reusable and recyclable plastic cups (we don’t care if we drink out the same cup twice)

 

[Shaggy_Dog_]

Have Towers stopped selling their reusable hot drinks cups in the coffee shop (and with it the offer of a discounted refill)? I know that my wife bought one of the cups last year and made use of the offer but it seemed that they weren’t doing those cups and the offer when we visited in April this year. My wife was also a little disappointed when we visited Legoland Windsor and they didn’t have a deal like that on either, it always seems a bit of a pity to see so many single use cups being used.

Something I’d like to see more widespread in the parks are bins with recycling points for both plastic bottles and paper cups. I know that I’ve seen special Coke recycling machines but I’d like to see just simple recycling bins dotted around each area of the parks to encourage people to easily put their plastic bottles in.

 

[jon81uk]

Have Towers stopped selling their reusable hot drinks cups in the coffee shop (and with it the offer of a discounted refill)? I know that my wife bought one of the cups last year and made use of the offer but it seemed that they weren’t doing those cups and they offer when we visited in April this year.

The hot drink refills have come and gone a few times. The big problem on cold weather days is the machines can’t make coffee quick enough to serve everyone that wants a refill.
The solution would be discounted refills instead of free ones to reduce demand. So £5 for the cup and first drink then £1 for refills sorta thing.

 

[AT86]

Something I’d like to see more widespread in the parks are bins with recycling points for both plastic bottles and paper cups.

Waste is apparently sorted once it leaves site and plastic bottles etc are picked out and recycled. More info here:

https://support.altontowers.com/hc/en-us/articles/360007241472-Do-Alton-Towers-recycle-the-waste-generated-by-the-business-and-by-guests-

Alton Towers​

“As part of our review process we visited Brown Recycling’s operation and were impressed with the overall setup and operation. We were particularly impressed to see all the incoming waste streams being segregated to be recycled.”

Alton Towers - Waste Management | Case Studies | Brown Recycling

Brown Recycling were the chosen waste disposal company for Alton Towers, proving waste management services for the site. Read more in our case study.

www.brownrecycling.co.uk

 

[James]

Our hobby is a long way from green sadly.

The world’s first rollercoaster made out of recycled materials?

Merlin would love that!

 

[rob666]

Waste is apparently sorted once it leaves site and plastic bottles etc are picked out and recycled. More info here:

https://support.altontowers.com/hc/en-us/articles/360007241472-Do-Alton-Towers-recycle-the-waste-generated-by-the-business-and-by-guests-

Alton Towers - Waste Management | Case Studies | Brown Recycling

Brown Recycling were the chosen waste disposal company for Alton Towers, proving waste management services for the site. Read more in our case study.

www.brownrecycling.co.uk

Sounds like third party greenwashing to me.
Does all the waste get picked and packed...why make the needless plastic waste in the first place I wonder?