Summer triathlon season kicked off around here with the Stegosaurus, the first in the T-Rex series of sprint triathlons.
This was about as smooth an event as I’ve been a part of. The weather was perfect, water temperature comfortable, and everything seemed to go well, including the Zero Waste effort, with less than half a pound of landfill. Just one glitch: volunteers were in short supply, as with most events I’ve worked this year, so my wife Joyce came along to help. She held down the main station while I worked the satellite station in the post-race party area.
Total waste at these events has dropped significantly, in part due to pandemic-induced lowered attendance, but also due to less material use. T-shirts are now an optional extra, which reduces cardboard, and the packaging for the medals has been reduced by going local and lighter. In fact, this event’s medals were hand-cut by one of the staff!
Also, post-race food did not include sandwiches or pasta. Instead, athletes got bags of Chex Mix and cookies. I heard no complaints.
About the only dilemma I had is an ongoing one – what to do with the dead inflatable dinos (along with dead inflatable Martians). I’m not counting them as landfill because I’m convinced there’s a recycling solution out there somewhere. I’ll keep you posted.
Happy Planet Running 