Food for thought?
We know that In April 2019, the London Marathon trialled several measures to reduce litter after clearing 47,000 plastic bottles from the streets in 2018. These included using compostable cups rather than plastic bottles at some stations along the route, and using plastic bottles made wholly or partly from recycled plastic.Wonder what our runners feedback is on their approach?
This year’s Cardiff Half Marathon used recyclable plastic bottles, recycled paper for all print advertising and medals made from recycled zinc.
And I believe that Harrow Half Marathon offers runners edible seaweed water sachets. In 2018 they were London’s first ‘Single Use Plastic Water Bottle Free’ event.
Also this years Conwy Half Marathon runners were warned that warned they would be disqualified if they dropped litter during the race. Not sure if anyone was though!!
In Paris they have been going for a carbon neutral marathon. I think it was last year that they had different bins that were being used along the route for plastics/paper/banana peels etc. Over the past three marathons, the organisers have reduced their production of waste produced on the event by 30%, increasing the amount of textiles recycled from the start, and donating any undistributed food to a food bank. As well as this, marathon organisers have replanted 140,000 trees and switched to using 100% electric vehicles on race day. Organisers have also announced that from 2019, 100% of the greenhouse gas emissions will be offset by the race’s partnership with the Livelihood fund, a project assisting rural communities in Kenya to restore and preserve their ecosystem.
Just in case Greta turns up I wonder what are we doing for the Wilmslow Running Festival?
I know how my back feels after collecting – with some of our club members – all the rubbish that had been thrown down, the following Monday. Not to mention the nettle rash you can also get!