We’re very pleased to announce that the 2016 Philadelphia Marathon achieved an 85% waste diversion rate, which means that of all the waste generated at the race, only 15% went to the landfill! This is the 5th year in a row that the Marathon has maintained a diversion rate of 85% or more, and we couldn’t have done it without the help of our Waste Watchers. Waste Watchers is a volunteer-driven initiative coordinated in partnership between the Office of Sustainability and the Marathon to recruit volunteers who help race attendees sort their waste into the proper recycling, compost, and trash receptacles.

Though we didn’t quite make it to “zero waste” (90%) this year, with five years of experience sorting waste and building up to the 90% goal, here are a few top tips on how to get to zero waste at a large event.

  1. Label & Color Code your Bins

Sorting waste into the right containers is so much easier when the bins are well-labeled and easy to differentiate by color. You can see we color code our recycling bin blue (which is well reinforced throughout the country!) and our compost bin green. This helps event attendees understand that they are participating in a green initiative by sorting their waste properly!

Recycling Bins

 

  1. Reduction Comes First

Zero waste starts with reducing the amount of waste your event is generating. At the 2016 Marathon, the race operators switched from offering gift bags filled with runner swag (apples, bananas, power bars, etc.) to a grab-and-go style food operation. This reduced the amount packaging associated with the runners’ food and made it easier for Waste Watchers volunteers to sort waste properly. Which brings us to…

 

  1. Recruit AWESOME Volunteers

We had over 200 Waste Watchers volunteers on the Parkway over race weekend this year. We rely on our volunteers to be the faces and voices of sustainability at the event, helping spectators and athletes alike sort their waste properly using the bins. This year, they braved the wind and the cold to make sure the job got done. We couldn’t have done it without them. Thank you to all of the volunteers who came out!

If you are interested in being a volunteer for a future, email wastewatchersphl@gmail.com and we will make sure you get notified about the next opportunity.