The Three R's - Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

Reduce - Paper and Printing

Race communications

By taking advantage of promotional opportunities, like the Greenteam, you may be able to reduce some of your need for printed brochures and advertising.

Email vs. US mail

Collect email addresses at this year's registration, and begin to reduce your paper and printed advertising needs for next year's race because you can communicate with racers via email. You can collect emails on the entry blank as an entry requirement - be upfront with how you intend to use the email address - when runners know that email correspondence will help make next year's race greener, most will be happy to provide their address. Any cost savings from email correspondence may be applied to future Green goals for next year's race.

Think about your printed materials in two categories - items that can be reused - like signs for site information and mile markers and other items that are a one-time use - such as on-site entry forms). Speak to your printer about the most environmentally friendly choices for each category. For repeat use items, printing on a substrate that can be stored for future use is environmentally practical. This may be more costly upfront but would likely save in the long-run if the race repeats each year. Your town or city may have ideas in this area - especially for mile markers and race directions.

Environmentally 'friendlier' printing

Many printers are FSC-certified and offer recycled-content paper. FSC stands for Forest Sustainability Council and is an international not-for-profit membership-based organization that brings people together to find solutions to the problems created by bad forestry practices and to reward good forest management. The use of FSC-certified paper and print products contributes to conservation, responsible management and community-level benefits in regions that depend on the lumber industry. FSC logo usage provides a guarantee to the consumer about the production of FSC-certified products.

Green printers are also able to use soy and other vegetable-based inks which are less harmful to the environment than their petroleum-based counterparts. Depending on the size of your event, you may be working directly with a printer or generating your own printed materials - in either case, work with your contacts to make sure the paper and printed materials that you use are as environmentally friendly as possible. Check out Green Office at www.greenoffice.com for a wide selection of Green office supplies.

Go Green with Custom House Publishers

The leader in green publishing for the running and fitness industries, Custom House Publishers (CHP) is a national marketing company that produces eco-friendly, direct-mail newspapers and other printed materials. CHP helps race directors reach current runners and prospect for new ones with affordable and fully customized marketing materials, all printed with 100 percent, soy-based ink—a renewable low VOC (volatile organic compound) that is non-petroleum based. CHP’s direct-mail products contain a minimum of 55 percent, post-consumer recycled materials. Scraps from leftover paper reams are even sent to a recycling company. CHP (www.directmailnewspapers.com) utilizes film-free printing, which means it goes directly from computer to plate. Thus, no developer or fixer chemicals are used in the printing process. CHP's standard 30-pound paper requires little or no bleach washing during manufacturing for less harm to the environment than traditional papers.

CHP produced a consolidated race brochure for the Whidbey Island Marathon with all green processes and materials, reducing the overall carbon footprint of the race. One concise paper with comprehensive race information and directions targeting all participants was created by the publishing company reducing paper and printing waste.

The Whidbey Island Marathon used its CHP paper as an expo brochure to promote its race, as well as a goody-bag item for race day to answer questions and offer information about the race. It also served as a souvenir with its colorful design. Other races also use CHP's direct-mail paper as a low-cost and eco-friendly mailer to past and potential participants. Still other races have produced inexpensive results guides to send to race finishers.

Recycle - On site recycling and waste removal

Proper recycling is essential for a Green race and recycling is the third R of the three R's.

We all know what it means - taking a product or material at the end of its useful life and turning it into a usable raw material to make another product.

There are many resources available, at the local and national level, to make sure that you can recycle race waste effectively. The organization you choose will help you determine the specific bins, number of bins and placement. There are also organizations that will provide you with educational information about recycling for race distribution - see what you can distribute electronically with your regular race communication.

Earth911, is an amazing repository of global and local Eco information. The site features a recycling section with information about how to recycle, why to recycle and what you can recycle. It also features the Earth 911 green recycling locator box to assist you in finding local recycling information; most towns list recycling programs and organizations with contact numbers, providing a good start for your recycling research.

The Komen Portland Race for the Cure® has published a comprehensive guide for recycling and reducing waste at a Race for the Cure (Portland) event - check out their comprehensive recycling guide for very specific details about event recycling planning and implementation.

EPA's Recycle on the Go Web site (www.epa.gov/recycleonthego) offers information on implementing recycling programs at special events, including case studies, resources for containers, signs and hands-on technical assistance, other online resources, and tools to measure the greenhouse gas savings from recycling.

Planning race course recycling

Proper recycling is probably going to be the most impactful green effort that your race can make -short of the educational message that you are sending to your local running community by creating a Greenteam race. With thoughtful planning, it is possible to collect the necessary information from your vendors and racers (at pre-registration) up front so that any materials brought on to the race course can be properly disposed of after the race. By knowing how and what you will distribute - pre, post and during the race, you will be able to secure the appropriate collection methods and recycling containers.

Recycling bins

Work closely with your local recycling organization to ensure they can provide the separate containers you will need for paper, tin or aluminum cans, and glass or plastic bottles, cardboard and paper.

Most recycling bins are designed to be easily recognizable, and are marked with slogans promoting recycling on a blue or green background. Be certain that the containers you will have at your race are clearly marked so that runners and other recyclers can easily differentiate between the types of materials to be collected in them. Bins should be placed appropriately - you may need all types near your refreshment area - if you are providing plastic bottles of water, take care to place bins for bottle collection throughout the event and course. Assign race workers and volunteers to keep the bins from overflowing - this will create efficient recycling and clean-up. If bin bags are your responsibility, work with your recycling vendor to source the correct bags to easily discern their contents throughout your collection chain.

Water

You can't have a race without providing water during and pre-race and post-race. Depending on the size of your race you may be able to offer water in biodegradable paper cups - thereby reducing the amount of waste your race generates. However, as long as you have the proper recycling bins for bottles and cups, you will be able to easily recycle your water waste. When deciding between cups and/or bottles, you will have to consider cup and bottle type. Cost, recyclability, and necessary labor associated with distribution, all come into play.

The Container Recycling Institute keeps a running countdown of how many cans and bottles have been land-filled, littered or incinerated just in the United States per year. You can also add HTML code to your own website to have the plug-in show up on your own page or on site for greater impact. For more information, visit the Container Recycling Institute website

Check out the following link to learn about Paper vs. Styrofoam, vs. Plastic Cups.

Appropriate recycling bins should be at all water and drink distribution points. Make sure that you have the proper clean-up at your drink stations to ensure proper recycling -think about partnering with local scouts or other organizations with similar Eco-goals.

In addition, investigate partnering with a water company who has a similar "Eco-vision." Check out some of the manufacturer's sites to learn about what they are doing to minimize their environmental impact. You'll find that many are introducing new lighter bottles, using smaller, recyclable labels, and exploring additional ways to reduce their environmental impact.

The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA),is the trade association representing the bottled water industry. IBWA's membership includes U.S. and international bottlers, distributors and suppliers and their site provides useful information and links about the industry as a whole.

The ING Hartford Marathon and Half Marathon created a unique water fountain for their Marathon finishers. The highly visible water bubbler, designed and built by UTC engineers and powered by Vital Water is 40 foot long and saved 10,000 plastic water bottles and paper cups from the local landfill in 2007.

The Hartford Marathon was the first ever to produce such a long water fountain at the marathon finish.

In addition to saving bottles and cups, the eco friendly bubbler is cost efficient, unique looking and convenient.

Reduce - Composting

By offering recycling receptacles, much race waste may be properly disposed; however, to truly go the extra 'green' mile you may want to offer composting. Composting is a method for reducing solid waste whereby the waste is treated and the organic material is broken down by microorganisms in the presence of oxygen to a point where it can be safely stored, handled and applied to the environment. Composting is considered by many to be an essential part of reducing waste. It can be done inexpensively and produces a product, finished compost or humus, which can benefit the environment as a natural fertilizer for gardening and farming. You would work with a compost company or local farmers who compost to help you separate your food waste and guide you in collection of your "greens and browns". Your most viable composting option may be a public compost drop-off site. Determine the best way for your vendors to collect food waste for composting and communicate proper collection methods up front or within their contracts, as necessary.

www.findacomposter.com is a searchable data base that will assist you in locating a composting facility in your area. The goal of the sponsor, the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) - is to demonstrate the vitality and potential of the composting industry. BPI's resources page links to international, federal, state and local composting and organics diversion initiatives.

Published since 1960, BioCycle provides monthly coverage of the composting, organics recycling and renewable energy industries, both in the pages of their magazine and via their website, www.biocycle.net.

A New York City compost coalition, Green Apple Map , has an informative website which provides a great outline on composting. You will find that much of your actual food waste and soiled napkins and paper towels can be composted rather than thrown in to a landfill.

Composting Education

You may find that your best Green help is delivered through the publishing of information about composting to increase public demand. As composting is demanded, more commercial or public access facilities will open. Alternatively, there is much to be done in our own homes and with the proper tools. Your Green race can go a long way in providing runners with the education to compost at home.

Reuse - Running Shoes

Many of the Greenteam races have incorporated shoe drives into their race - allowing runners (and attendees) to recycle old running shoes on race day. This is a worthy cause, since shoes considered "worn" for serious runners still have many "Green" miles left to someone who just needs them to cover their feet.

Soles4Souls, is a national organization with outreach partnering at the local level. Call the Soles4Souls hotline at (866) 521-SHOE to learn more.

Soles4souls provides full details for planning a "gently worn" shoe drive. By checking out their 10 Steps to Coordinating a Successful 'Gently Worn' Shoe Drive, you'll be able to do everything you can to plan, promote and manage your Greenteam running shoe drive. This is also a visible way to incorporate families and the local community into the Green race experience.

www.giveshoes.org is another organization providing shoes to people around the world who need them - you could also contact local shelters or houses of worship for ideas of needy organizations in the local community to contribute discarded race clothing and shoes.

Our children are learning in school that properly collected and recycled running shoes can be made into basketball courts - one of the keys to recycling anything is its proper collection.

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