Another day of great weather for this year’s RF Events Stegosaurus Tri. This sprint triathlon is the first of four identical events over the summer. The athletes were pumped to get the season underway, and so was the Green Team.
As usual, we set up the main Zero Waste station near the registration tent and a small satellite station in the finish line area. We also placed a large All Waste box at each transition entrance/exit. The new larger boxes were an improvement, reducing the frequency needed to swap them out. We also gave the evening off to four park trash cans in the race area, replacing them at takedown.
Liz and Sara keeping everything sorted.
Construction on the park’s roads meant a slight alteration to the run course. This was actually a benefit to us, as one of the water stops was just a short walk from our station and we were able to retrieve the cups early rather than wait for the truck at race end. And there wasn’t much activity in the finish line area, normally where people gather to eat, talk, and await results, as the food was given out near the parking lot instead of the finish area.
Overall waste was down roughly 15 percent from 2023, with recyclables cut by one-third while compost was up. Little Caesars pizza boxes were the main contributor to compost. Cardboard was cut nearly in half, perhaps due to fewer T-shirts and fewer boxes for finisher medals. Landfill was the same as 2023 at just under one pound.
Everything went smoothly. Staffers Liz and Sara kept us on top of things, and we got everything weighed and loaded up before dark. With three weekend events following this one, this outcome was most welcome!
Happy Planet Running 