HPR Accepts Environmental Excellence Award

What’s more fun than getting an award? An award plus getting to promote sustainability at running events! Happy Planet Running has been given a 2018 Eunice L. Burns Environmental Awareness Award from the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors (AAABoR). I accepted the award at their annual meeting on January 10. I was nominated for theContinue reading “HPR Accepts Environmental Excellence Award”

Brrr! Holiday Hustle Sustainability Report

It was Holiday Hustle time in Dexter, where several thousand diehard runners showed up, hustled their way through a mile or three, and then hustled out of there. And supporting them was over a hundred diehard staff and volunteers determined to help them enjoy the experience. The Zero Waste team was fired up to finishContinue reading “Brrr! Holiday Hustle Sustainability Report”

Cold Turkey, Hot Chocolate, Zero Waste

A cold, blustery morning didn’t stop thousands of people from packing downtown Ann Arbor for the annual Turkey Trot. With a hot chocolate and coffee station for the runners, we promised to be awash in cups, as well as bananas, cookies, and cardboard from all the boxes. We learned last year that making the raceContinue reading “Cold Turkey, Hot Chocolate, Zero Waste”

Worth Gobbling About! A2 Turkey Trot Sustainability Report

Baby, it was cold outside! But due to their dedication to the great sport of running, hundreds of people came out to run at Hudson Mills anyway. Or maybe it was the Ray’s Red Hots, hot chocolate and pumpkin pie. Either way, the Zero Waste team had a job to do. How’d we manage? SmoothContinue reading “Worth Gobbling About! A2 Turkey Trot Sustainability Report”

Sweet Success! Hot Cocoa Classic Sustainability Report

How do you get several hundred people to show up on a cold, gray morning and climb a steep hill to begin a run? Promise them hot chocolate afterward! With a lot of food and drink being consumed in a short time, could the Zero Waste effort keep up? With a good process and thoughtfulContinue reading “Sweet Success! Hot Cocoa Classic Sustainability Report”

Slam that Cider! Scrumpy Skedaddle 2017 Zero Waste Report

A perfect fall morning, a run through an apple orchard, pancakes, and the best draft hard cider on the planet. That’s as good as it gets, folks. And this year, over 2,000 people showed up at Almar Orchards in Flushing to run, eat, and imbibe. The Scrumpy Skedaddle is a great race, but last yearContinue reading “Slam that Cider! Scrumpy Skedaddle 2017 Zero Waste Report”

Can You Recycle Race Bibs? Yes! (Updated)

UPDATE March 2020: It appears that DuPont no longer supports recycling of Tyvek race bibs. At this time the only race bib recycling option I can find is to use a Sporting Goods Zero Waste Box from TerraCycle. You can find it on their website at this link. They are also sold through some third-partyContinue reading “Can You Recycle Race Bibs? Yes! (Updated)”

Sustainability Report: Huron River Day

I’m pleased to pass along this sustainability report from last week’s Huron River Day in Ann Arbor. I was there as an informal volunteer, “talking trash” with the fine folks at Zero Waste Washtenaw who were managing the sustainability activities. A large crowd came to Gallup Park to kayak, play games, eat, and enjoy a perfectContinue reading “Sustainability Report: Huron River Day”

ROAR! Triceratops Tri achieves 95% Diversion

A famous long-extinct species was spotted everywhere at last week’s Triceratops Triathlon. But you know what’s hardly seen these days at an RF Events race? Garbage! Sending piles of event waste to a landfill is on its way to sharing the fate of the dinosaurs, although I doubt any future triathlons will be named afterContinue reading “ROAR! Triceratops Tri achieves 95% Diversion”