Bringing K&N Air Filters to Gyms
Air quality in indoor climbing gyms is a huge challenge, and we are leading the industry in implementing high quality and sustainable solutions. Nationwide, Bouldering Project’s partnership with K&N Filters means that we are diverting 14,000 filters, or 15 tons of waste from the landfill every single year. This equates to an 80% reduction in our carbon footprint related to air filtration, and we’ll see a return on this investment within the first year. As a climbing gym brand, Bouldering Project sits adjacent to outdoor climbing, so any opportunity that we can take to be good stewards of our environment is something we pursue. Plus, we’re obsessed with the quality of our gyms, and this is one example of how we are constantly pushing to improve the experience in our spaces for our members, guests, and staff.
Overcoming the Chalk Challenge
Keeping the air clean in climbing gyms is a huge challenge because of chalk. It only takes a week for some of our filters to have a 1cm thick layer of chalk on them.
Reusable Filters
Our facilities teams used to change our air filters up to twice a week. With K&N’s reusable filters, our teams simply wash the filters with low-pressure water in about 30 seconds. No chemicals required.
Sustainability
Across all of our indoor climbing gyms, we are now diverting 14,000 filters, equivalent to 15 tons of waste from the landfill every year.
Air Quality is a big challenge in climbing gyms
Air quality in climbing gyms is crucial because climbers use chalk on their hands, and when they clap their hands together or grab climbing holds, chalk goes into the air. Plus there are odors in the gym that need to be filtered and kept in control. In Austin, Texas our 50,000 square foot Springdale location requires 11 HVAC units that work around the clock to keep the facility cool. Because of the challenge of filtering air in climbing gyms, a brand new filter will have about a 1cm thick layer of chalk on it within a week. Kaylee Nelson, Bouldering Project’s National Facilities Manager reports “We go through about 60 of these a week, and just throw them away.” And that’s just at our East Austin gym on Springdale Road. When we first heard about K&N’s reusable filter, our facilities team jumped on the chance to reduce waste and improve our air quality through a sustainable method. Instead of throwing away the filters, we now pull them out of the HVAC unit, and simply hose them off with light water pressure. The cleaning process only takes about 30 seconds per filter, and no chemicals are required.
Springdale
Westgate
Somerville
Gowanus
Design District
The Granary
West River
Tempe
Fremont/Upper Walls
Poplar
University District
Eckington
A Sustainable Solution
“Sustainability has three components: Economic, Environmental and Social. This makes sense for us on the Economic side because we’ll see payback in less than 12 months. On the environmental side, we remove 15 tons of waste from landfills every year. And on the social side, we are helping create a better experience for the members of the community that use our space. Ticks all the boxes.”
—Kaylee Wilson, National Facilities & Sustainability Manager for Bouldering Project
Our commitment to quality extends to the air in our gyms. Bouldering Project is an inclusive climbing, yoga, and fitness brand with 12 gyms across the United States. More than that, we are build community spaces where we welcome people from all walks of life to experience movement and connect with one another.
Kaylee Wilson: National Facilities & Sustainability Manager for Bouldering Project
Charles Morris: General Manager for Austin Bouldering Project - Springdale
