What no Cups?

Yes no cups, none, nought, nada, zilch, zero, zip, who would have thought? It makes sense really. Consider this:

The paper cup is made from a composite of materials: kraft bleached paper sprayed with a polyethylene coating, or sometimes even worse – polystyrene. Paper cups are often impregnated with toxic dyes which make them difficult to recycle. The plastic lining in disposable paper cups means they are not recyclable. Biodegradation of a paper cup can take 50 years or more (~500years for a Styrofoam cup!). On average, each disposable cup contains 5% of the raw materials involved in the process of making and delivering it.

Small acts can make a big difference – for better and for worse. The environmental impact of all single use items is phenomenal. Through good design and a little effort we can easily incorporate reuse into our events and daily routine for that matter.

Lost cost events – Metrogaines and Rogaines and the like (Trail Runs have been cup free all year) are all reasonably priced and are well catered for considering the entry fee. Reduction of overheads like single use disposable cups goes a long way to allocating the monies else where – like (every athlete’s friend) food or prizes!!

I cannot think of why anyone who participates in an Adventure Sport NQ event would not have a water bottle of their own either at work or in their car or in the cage of their water bottle holder on the MTB. We all know the importance of adequate hydration.

Recycle – next event when you get to the finish, think first before you go straight to the water or staminade drums. Walk over to the car grab your sports bottle and fill it up instead of using a disposable cup.

Or BYO cups – keep some in your gym or event kit and be prepared before heading to the event. One leading contender in the Dirty Northern Trail running series simply keeps a plastic measuring cup tied in his drawstring and scoops a drink from the nearest appropriate creek!

Rubbish – the most common complaint I hear from organisers is about cleaning up after the event. And the worst offender is . . . you guessed it disposable cups! While our events may not be as bad as the high profile marathon pictured above, The events are all held in beaut parks and reserves in our region and are left disgraceful, littered with paper or plastic cups. The Trail running crew have set the precedent - a competitor was disqualified for littering last year. Its not hard just put the cups in the bin, if there is no bin (or its already overflowing) take yours with you and dispose of it at home, or even better – don’t use em!