This year’s RF Events Running Between the Vines at Sandhill Crane Vineyards was notable from a Zero Waste perspective more for what didn’t happen than what did. Namely no nasty surprises, like hidden trash cans stuffed full. Everything went well, and with another large event the following day, the smooth experience was more than welcome.
This race features half marathon, 5K, and 5-mile distances, and even an opportunity to consecutively run the two shorter ones. Afterward there’s live music, Zingerman’s bread and olive oil, hummus, Mindo chocolate, and wine tastings served in a finisher’s glass. And check out the age group awards!
Like last year, we set up three stations. The first was next to the porta-potties and staffed until the races started, then unattended until takedown. This station handles the paper towels and pre-start runner waste, and is where we put litter (mostly disposable water bottles) from the starting line. Surprisingly, there was much less total waste collected and there was almost no starting line litter at all.
The second station was at the top of the hill after the finish line. Here is also where we put the box of “free stuff” – this year mainly bike water bottles, but some other things, too – and gave away a good portion of it. The third was in the party area, and we gave the snack tables an All Waste box each, swapping them out when full. We also put out some All Waste boxes at registration and moved the vineyard’s recycling carts out of sight. All this worked well.
We got terrific support from the RF and vineyard staff. The finish line folks broke down and stacked the cardboard boxes from the finisher glasses and medals, and all the noshes (bread, olive oil, hummus, chocolate) were served in compostable cups. And new this year, the vineyard staff at the wine tables sorted the recycling and compostables they collected, and took care of their empty wine bottles. We ended up with just 15 bottles from various source to recycle, a big change from the dozens of previous years.
Many thanks to interns Emma and Kaylee, who kept on top of the post-race rush and even had time to interview a few folks on Zero Waste.
Finally, with the new trailer we could pack up all the equipment and collected waste in just one load! A very welcome finish to a refreshingly smooth event. (I’d say, “just like a good wine” but I’m not a wine drinker.)
Happy Planet Running 