Greening our ski slopes

Fed up with a lack of environmental responsibility in the ski industry, two University of Auckland mechanical engineering students have come up with a novel design for 'sustainable skis'.



Kate Merry and Blake Vanderwee were appalled to learn that thousands of skis make their way into landfill each year because they are made from a complex mix of un-recyclable materials - including fibreglass, titanium and polymers.



"It is common practice worldwide for rental shops to break and throw away their skis at the end of every season," Kate says.



As part of a final year project, Kate and Blake designed and built green skis from a recyclable type of reinforced thermoplastic called Twintex, wrapped around balsa wood.



"At the end of each season, ski companies could take back the skis from rental shops and either sell the material or reuse it for another application," Blake says.



Thermoplastic is a low-cost material that can be easily melted and remoulded into new products. The material is not currently used in the ski industry.



"You can easily fix small areas of damage to thermoplastic skis by reheating the ski and remoulding the affected area," Kate says.



Kate is a passionate skier and Blake a keen snowboarder.



Their project won the Composites Association of New Zealand Prize at The Department of Mechanical Engineering Project Display Day on Friday, 5 October 2007.



Long term, the students hope to design a ski using fully biodegradable materials derived from renewable resources.