It’s cider mill season again, which means another edition of the RF Events Scrumpy Skedaddle at Almar Orchards in Flushing. Almar stands out for their JK Scrumpy hard cider, which is the best I’ve ever had, and was on tap to boot, so I always look forward to this event.
Cool temps meant comfortable conditions for those running the 5K, 10K, and 10-mile races through the orchard. And clouds and mist kept away the ubiquitous yellow jackets until near the end, when the sun came out. A big relief for the Green Team, which is usually pestered to distraction by the little buggers, even if stings are rare.
Like last year, I placed the main Zero Waste Station at the center of the exit of the post-race area, with a satellite station at the entrance to the cider building. I placed All Waste boxes at three points in the chute from the finish line to the cider building. Registration got three All Waste boxes, picked up after the final race began. This setup worked well, keeping race waste out of the orchard’s trash cans.
Once again Chris Cakes was flinging pancakes onto people’s plates (see featured photo), which meant periodic patrols of that area to pick up the misses. Sausage and cider were also provided to the runners, with live music to sit and eat by.
As usual the plates and utensils were compostable, with pumped syrup. New this year was aluminum finisher cups instead of waxed or glass. Since most runners kept their cups, this reduced cardboard and cup waste, with no rinsing required. And the cooler temps meant fewer water bottles. We’ll give away or recycle the aluminum cups people decided not to keep.
Compostable water cups, too!
Compostables made up two-thirds of the waste, consisting of food waste, plates, napkins, and sporks. Ten pounds of food waste went to the orchard’s goats, who for some reason hesitated to eat it. (My sister’s goat once ate a bag of nails, so I have no idea what they were thinking.) Recycling was water and Gatorade bottles, and a few cans runners brought in, with some paper and cardboard. Landfill was mostly tape, with a few miscellaneous items.
I had only one intern and no volunteers, so it was just Linda and me handling an event that usually needs four on the Green Team to stay on top of things. Turns out I needn’t have worried. With total waste way down and a steady rush, I was able to sweep the finish line area regularly while Linda held down the fort.
Mandatory photo when a cute cat is on the scene!
We ended up with the lowest total waste in the ten years we’ve served this race. No complaints there!
