If you’ve never been part of a running marathon, then perhaps you don’t know the amount of garbage they produce. Garbage that is actually mostly recyclable but due to lack of motivation, gets lumped together with non-recyclable material. Well, if you keep reading you will find out how local groups in Hong Kong are pushing for running event organizers to hold more responsibility.
The Issue:
The issue is obviously the fact that unnecessary amounts of garbage are being produced by runners in Hong Kong. Vivien Cheng Yu-wai, director of Green Earth’s community partnership, is urging these event organisers to implement more environmental measures to reduce waste. She says, “Hong Kong is an events capital and every week, or even every day, there are wide-ranging activities and events being held. Now, we want to go further and transform the city into a green events capital.”
Currently, the research done around these racing events shows how more than 50% of the material being thrown in the garbage is recyclable!
Green Earth has monitored 15 races between October – December of 2017 and found that 80% of races offered plastic water bottles. Only 40% offered water refilling stations! Having more refilling stations would help reduce waste as runners won’t have to use single-use plastic bottles.
Another issue is that garbage bins and recycling bins are not being distinguished so runners will throw their items in whichever bin is closer and more convenient.
The Proposed Solution:
Green initiatives have been shown to help reduce the amount of waste produced at these events and to even change the behaviour of participants according to two event organizers.
“We need to educate not only our participants, but also our volunteers and the support team of the participants. So, we need patience to educate them, as well as a clear and thoroughly assessed plan … so that participants know that we are all in this together and are willing to help.”
The amount of recycled materials has increased from “nearly zero” to more than 300kg in the past few years, Wong said. The organiser also no longer uses paper cups at the events, a reduction of more than 50,000 since 2016.
“The environment is our playground. If we keep producing this much waste, we could lose our environment and won’t have anywhere to go, especially for nature runners.”
The green group has produced a free guidebook for the public to learn about reducing waste and implement recycling initiatives.
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Original post: https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2160539/green-group-urges-hong-kong-race-organisers
