Happy Planet Running closed out its Zero Waste season last Saturday with the RF Events Holiday Hustle in Dexter.
It was cold for both the morning half marathon and afternoon 5K, but attendance was up from last year, colorful costumes were all around, and everyone seemed to have a good time. The Green Team even put some holiday decorations on the Zero Waste station tables.
We set up at 10 a.m. for the half marathon at Erratic Ale, which handed out cups of beer to runners after they finished. The race “footprint” is their large patio. Our staffed station was at one end near the food truck, with large All Waste boxes on tables at the other end and in the center. We also put out a large “Free” box of hats, gloves, and sweatshirts, which got some takers.
The half marathoners take off.
Food came from a BBQ truck, Raterman’s pretzels, and beer. All containers and utensils were compostable, which saved us a lot of effort from not having to rinse them, although we got a bunch of paper cups that needed rinsing later back at HPR HQ before they could be recycled. Other waste streams included cardboard, plastic water bottles, and a good number of hand warmers, which went to TerraCycle. We also wound up with quite a few leftover medals. The ribbons go to TerraCycle, the medals themselves to scrap metal.
Our morning team was intern Cole, my sister Jen and my friend Sue. Thanks to their hard work I was able to sneak in a run, contenting myself with 3.5 miles rather than wipe myself out with the half like I did last year. The flow was steady, without much of a mad rush at either the morning or afternoon event. A good thing, because it was just me and staffer Bridget working the 5K.
From left: Sue, Jen, and Cole helping the runners properly dispose.
Bridget holds down the afternoon station. (Yes, I know it’s a busy photo. Working on my technique.)
We wrapped up just before 3:00. I unloaded the full carts at home, loaded fresh carts for the afternoon, and was at Monument Park at 3:30 to set up for the 5K. A Christmas tree display occupied much of the park, so there weren’t many places to set up visible Zero Waste stations. We set up one between the tall monument and the bandstand (where Santa was) and put All Waste boxes on the nearby trash cans. I checked a couple other cans farther away and retrieved the race waste from them, as well as some compostable cups from an earlier event that day. (A compostable cup going to landfill has no advantage over any other cup.)
There were fewer water bottles left on the ground this year. Not sure why. It could be people just didn’t take as many due to the cold, or they saw our station more easily.
Total waste decreased by about 5% over last year, due to a drop in compostables while recycling remained the same, and landfill dropped to less than half a pound. Just a tiny bag of tape and soiled things we couldn’t handle. Sorry, landfills, your stockings won’t have anything from us in it this Christmas!
Happy Planet Running 