Sports gear found in dumpster headed to energy producing incinerator

It turns out that sports equipment found in a dumpster in Whistler, is former Whistler Blackcomb gear that is no longer safe to use.

A Whistler local discovered numerous ski boots, helmets and bike forks in a dumpster earlier this week in Function Junction. Whistler Blackcomb say the gear could no longer be used as it was unsafe, and that they cycle items out of use on a very routine basis.

Straps on helmets had been cut to ensure that no one could use the gear. The disposed equipment also included pads and cracked bike frames.

Jennifer Smith, Senior Public Relations Specialist at Whistler Blackcomb says there is no recycling option for this type of equipment, so they do the next best thing. The gear is “transported to an incinerator and the heat generated is used to spin turbines that put energy back into the grid. The plastics burn off, but the metals can then be recycled”.

Staff plan to used a covered bin in the future so the public does not try and re-use any of the damaged equipment.