For the fourth consecutive year, Happy Planet Running came to Detroit to provide Zero Waste services to the Riverfront Run at Cullen Plaza. We’re proud to support what’s been voted “the best riverfront in America” and the Conservancy that puts on a 5K and 10K run by over 1,500 people.
Which includes Mike, who just returned from a 10K in Madagascar. At age 82. Because he can.
We set up the staffed Zero Waste station at its usual place across from the food tables on the way to the starting line, and put a satellite station near the main exit. We covered the trash cans in the post-race area and placed All Waste boxes on top, swapping them as they got full. We collected cardboard and plastic bags from the finish line water area.
The Green Team enjoys a quiet moment before the rush. From left: Cole, Spencer, Julia, David, Susan.
Compostables included banana and orange peels, scraps of bagels, and some compostable coffee cups. Recycling was mainly cardboard and Liquid Death water cans, some Gatorade bottles, and jugs from the water stops. Specialty recycling (TerraCycle) items included disposable gloves, snack and Gu wrappers, race bibs, and small plastics.
Total recycling was basically flat with last year, while compostables dropped by about one-third, likely due to the absence of water stop cups. And once again, our landfill diversion rate was over 99 percent, with just a single small bag of landfill.
Improvements included the use of Hiccup Earth reusable cups at the water stops, which practically eliminated disposable cup waste. And there was no litter in the garden beds this year. It may have been due to more visible All Waste boxes, and that we collected trash from runners as we walked around swapping them out.
No “rogue” (unknown) trash cans this year, although someone put one at the corner where the runners make their first turn. We replaced it with an All Waste box, but it didn’t collect any more trash. At takedown we put the trash can back. There was one trash can near the river we didn’t cover and it filled up with race waste, which we retrieved at takedown. I also pulled the cans and banana peels out of the trash cans near the porta-potties.
We had an all-veteran Green Team this year. Along with Jeff and Cole were regular volunteers Spencer, Susan, Julia, and even David, who first hired HPR in 2023. Thanks to their hard work, we stayed on top of the rush and had everything sorted by the time we left at 11:30. Great job, everyone!
Happy Planet Running 