The air quality was much better than this time last year, which means the RF Events Triceratops Tri could actually be held! 2023’s Canadian wildfires resulting in cancellation are gone, and we had a perfect evening for a sprint triathlon or duathlon at Island Lake Recreation Area.
The Zero Waste effort at last month’s Stegosaurus Tri was smooth and easy, and I was looking forward to more of the same. And it was – except for a couple of surprises that kept the Green Team on its toes during the post-race party.
We set up the main Zero Waste station (“Ground Zero”) near the registration tent, and put large All Waste boxes at each end of transition. The race staff thoughtfully set up a water table with cups at the finish line, so we put a box there, too. The cups cut down on disposable water bottles, which are bulky and often have to be opened and emptied.
We usually set up a small second station by the awards pavilion where people gather. But the Little Caesars pizza truck set up at the other end of the race area, near the bathrooms and run water stop. This spread people out enough that we set up two satellite stations in the area. No problem, except one of my interns had a last-minute issue and cancelled, so we had only two people to staff three stations. So Liz took care of Ground Zero while I shuttled back and forth in the party area. We were busy, but all went well.
One of the party area stations. Note the box on top of the cart (used for sorted compost) to stop people from using it, even with a big “NO TRASH” sign on it. Such are the Green Team’s trials and tribulations!
The water stop staff repurposed two park trash cans to collect the cups, an innovation I’m going to make sure continues. However, they put them back before the event was over, so they began filling up with mixed waste. A small problem to fix for next time.
We moved or repurposed six park trash cans, and the attending ranger was pleasantly shocked to find no trash to collect in our area! He was so impressed he put all six back in place, allowing us to finish takedown and data collection.
Overall waste was down roughly 15 percent from 2021 and 2022, with recyclables down and compost up (thanks to greasy pizza boxes). Landfill was under two pounds, and much of it came from outside the race, such as fast food wrappers.
That’s about all there is to report. The only improvement I can think of is to remember to bring Zero Waste Rex for next month’s Pterodactyl Tri. I’ve added him to the checklist!
Happy Planet Running 