A skier on an artificial ski slope

SNOWLEWSS SLALOM: A skier races down a newly opened artificial ski slope in Copenhagen, Denmark.

COURTESY OF NEVEPLAST

STANDARDS

NGSS: Core Idea: ETS1.A

CCSS: Literacy in Science: 7

TEKS: 6.7A, 7.2E, 8.3D, E.5F

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No Snow Required

How a city turned a mountain of garbage into a mountain of fun

February 17, 2020
By Jacqueline Adams

AS YOU READ, THINK ABOUT the challenges engineers might face when building a ski slope on top of a waste management facility.

JIM MCMAHON/MAPMAN ®

People looking for a fun day out in Copenhagen, Denmark, just need to head to the local trash disposal center. The city’s new Amager Bakke waste plant has a slanted roof that sports an artificial ski slope, named Copenhill. Its surface is covered in a mat of slick plastic bristles that skiers and snowboarders can glide over as easily as real snow.

People looking for fun in Copenhagen, Denmark, don’t need to go far. They can just head to the local trash disposal center. The city’s new Amager Bakke waste plant has a slanted roof. An artificial ski slope, named Copenhill, runs down it. A mat of slick plastic bristles covers the slope’s surface. Skiers and snowboarders can glide over it, just like real snow. 

Copenhill Waste-to-Energy Plant
Watch a video about skiing down a snowless, man-made hill.

Visitors can also explore hiking trails lining Copenhill or ascend its dizzying climbing wall— the highest one ever constructed on the side of a building. All the while, the state-of-the-art facility below works around the clock incinerating, or burning, the city’s garbage to generate electricity and heat. It’s one of the most efficient and environmentally friendly waste-to-energy plants in the world.

Visitors can also explore hiking trails along Copenhill. Or they can try out its dizzying climbing wall. It’s the highest one ever built on the side of a building. At the same time, the state-of-the-art plant below them works around the clock. It incinerates, or burns, the city’s garbage to make electricity and heat. It’s one of the most efficient and environmentally friendly waste-to-energy plants in the world.

ROOFTOP SKI SLOPE

Denmark is the flattest country in Europe. Despite its lack of mountains, it now boasts its own ski slope, called Copenhill, perched on top of a power plant.

Denmark is the flattest country in Europe. Despite its lack of mountains, it now boasts its own ski slope, called Copenhill, perched on top of a power plant.

CLEANER ENERGY: The plant removes harmful chemicals and particles from the emissions released by its smokestack, minimizing air pollution. By keeping trash out of landfills, the plant also limits its contribution to climate change. Rotting trash in dumps is a major source of methane—a potent greenhouse gas that traps heat in Earth’s atmosphere.

CLEANER ENERGY: The plant removes harmful chemicals and particles from the emissions released by its smokestack, minimizing air pollution. By keeping trash out of landfills, the plant also limits its contribution to climate change. Rotting trash in dumps is a major source of methane—a potent greenhouse gas that traps heat in Earth’s atmosphere.

VERTICAL ASCENT: Adventurers can tackle Copenhill’s 20-story climbing wall.

VERTICAL ASCENT: Adventurers can tackle Copenhill’s 20-story climbing wall.

TAKE A HIKE: Visitors can also hike trails that line the ski slope up to the roof’s highest point—about 85 meters (279 feet) above the ground.

TAKE A HIKE: Visitors can also hike trails that line the ski slope up to the roof’s highest point—about 85 meters (279 feet) above the ground.

FIRED UP: The waste-to-energy plant beneath skiers’ feet burns about 400,000 tons of non-recyclable trash a year. Some of the heat is used to generate electricity to power 30,000 homes. The rest warms water carried by pipes to heat 72,000 houses. “The people that produced the waste get heat created by their own trash,” says Nordestgaard.

FIRED UP: The waste-to-energy plant beneath skiers’ feet burns about 400,000 tons of non-recyclable trash a year. Some of the heat is used to generate electricity to power 30,000 homes. The rest warms water carried by pipes to heat 72,000 houses. “The people that produced the waste get heat created by their own trash,” says Nordestgaard.

REINFORCED ROOF: To re-create the contours of a mountain slope, engineers used a steel frame covered with concrete slabs. They contain steel mesh and hollow spaces, so they’re stronger and lighter than concrete. The design allows the structure to bear the weight of artificial snow, landscaping, and as many as 1,500 visitors.

REINFORCED ROOF: To re-create the contours of a mountain slope, engineers used a steel frame covered with concrete slabs. They contain steel mesh and hollow spaces, so they’re stronger and lighter than concrete. The design allows the structure to bear the weight of artificial snow, landscaping, and as many as 1,500 visitors.

ROOFTOP SKI SLOPE

Denmark is the flattest country in Europe. Despite its lack of mountains, it now boasts its own ski slope, called Copenhill, perched on top of a power plant.

Denmark is the flattest country in Europe. Despite its lack of mountains, it now boasts its own ski slope, called Copenhill, perched on top of a power plant.

CLEANER ENERGY: The plant removes harmful chemicals and particles from the emissions released by its smokestack, minimizing air pollution. By keeping trash out of landfills, the plant also limits its contribution to climate change. Rotting trash in dumps is a major source of methane—a potent greenhouse gas that traps heat in Earth’s atmosphere.

CLEANER ENERGY: The plant removes harmful chemicals and particles from the emissions released by its smokestack, minimizing air pollution. By keeping trash out of landfills, the plant also limits its contribution to climate change. Rotting trash in dumps is a major source of methane—a potent greenhouse gas that traps heat in Earth’s atmosphere.

VERTICAL ASCENT: Adventurers can tackle Copenhill’s 20-story climbing wall.

VERTICAL ASCENT: Adventurers can tackle Copenhill’s 20-story climbing wall.

TAKE A HIKE: Visitors can also hike trails that line the ski slope up to the roof’s highest point—about 85 meters (279 feet) above the ground.

TAKE A HIKE: Visitors can also hike trails that line the ski slope up to the roof’s highest point—about 85 meters (279 feet) above the ground.

FIRED UP: The waste-to-energy plant beneath skiers’ feet burns about 400,000 tons of non-recyclable trash a year. Some of the heat is used to generate electricity to power 30,000 homes. The rest warms water carried by pipes to heat 72,000 houses. “The people that produced the waste get heat created by their own trash,” says Nordestgaard.

FIRED UP: The waste-to-energy plant beneath skiers’ feet burns about 400,000 tons of non-recyclable trash a year. Some of the heat is used to generate electricity to power 30,000 homes. The rest warms water carried by pipes to heat 72,000 houses. “The people that produced the waste get heat created by their own trash,” says Nordestgaard.

REINFORCED ROOF: To re-create the contours of a mountain slope, engineers used a steel frame covered with concrete slabs. They contain steel mesh and hollow spaces, so they’re stronger and lighter than concrete. The design allows the structure to bear the weight of artificial snow, landscaping, and as many as 1,500 visitors.

REINFORCED ROOF: To re-create the contours of a mountain slope, engineers used a steel frame covered with concrete slabs. They contain steel mesh and hollow spaces, so they’re stronger and lighter than concrete. The design allows the structure to bear the weight of artificial snow, landscaping, and as many as 1,500 visitors.

Copenhagen wanted Amager Bakke to be both a sustainable and an attractive addition to the city. Currently, there’s no other structure like it. But Peter Madsen Nordestgaard, a civil engineer who managed the project, doesn’t want it to always be that way. “I hope this will be a milestone and other cities will say, ‘Let’s do something like Amager Bakke.’”

Copenhagen wanted Amager Bakke to be a sustainable and a beautiful part of the city. Right now, there’s no other building like it. But Peter Madsen Nordestgaard doesn’t want it to stay that way. He’s a civil engineer who managed the project. “I hope this will be a milestone and other cities will say, ‘Let’s do something like Amager Bakke.’”  

COURTESY OF CHRISTOFFER REGILD/ARC

SLIPPERY SURFACE: To mimic the feel of natural ground on the ski slope, engineers first laid down soil and then planted grass to hold it in place. They placed a layer of plastic bristles, which are coated in slippery silicone oil, on top. The grass can grow through holes in the material.

DESIGNING SOLUTIONS: How would you redesign a building near you to give its roof a secondary purpose that would benefit residents and the environment?

Earth Science
Environment
Physics
Energy & Power
Engineering
Civil & Mechanical Engineering, Environmental Engineering

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