Action Items

PAST and PRESENT ACTIONS ITEMS

o   100 percent online race registration – eliminating paper registration forms.

o   No paper in the goodie bag. Compostable bag that participants receive at the expo doubles as clothing management bag.

o   Recycling stations at the Finish Line and Expo.

o   Waste disposal and recycling

o   Plastics and cardboard recycling

o   Composting for food waste at the finish line

o   Many water stops use the city’s water supply to hydrate runners, eliminating two tractors and three trailers that were previously used to deploy over 8,000 one-gallon jugs of water to the various stops along the race route.  All plastic jugs used at other water stops are recycled.  Reduce plastics bottle by supplementing with “refill stations” along course and at finish line

o   All badges for race operations made from recycled plastic (more than 1,000 total)

o   Banners are printed consciously and stored appropriately for reuse. Leftover banners turned into tote bags.

o   Food Vendor at finish line used compostable or recyclable serving ware

o   Three bio-diesel and two solar-powered generators saved approximately 100 gallons of gas on race day

o   Ten official race vehicles and trucks used bio-diesel fuel

o   No-idle zones were enforced for all race vehicles, saving approximately 18 gallons of gas and 95 pounds of carbon dioxide during race day

o   All port-a-potties serviced with Dyna-Bact Environmental Toilet Deodorizer (an eco friendly product that is used to clean port-a-lets). Toilet paper manufactured with recycled content

o   Gutter Buddies – shields on city gutters to keep debris from going into Lady Bird Lake

o   Team of kayakers from the Austin Rowing Center retrieve items discarded in Lady Bird Lake as runners pass over the Ann B. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge and the South First Street Bridge

o   Local homeless shelter receives leftover food from the Finish Line’s food service stations

o   More than 500 articles of discarded clothing donated to local charities. Leftover finishers' medals and shirts donated to a local charity.

o   Race websites hosted by company using wind power for operations

o   Public transit and carpooling encouraged wherever possible

o   Carbon-offset sales -$5 Green Tickets can be purchased at registration or at the expo

o   Designated Green Team leader in every division, ensuring everything from clothing management to race communications to food service is as sustainable as possible. The team leaders are charged with eliminating unnecessary waste and pollution at every turn.

o   Farmers' market with local and organic produce at the finish line

Green Tickets

Thanks to our partner Green Mountain, you’ll run confidently with the priceless satisfaction of knowing you’ve helped neutralize your impact on Mother Earth.

By choosing the Green Ticket, your money supports 500 kWh of new renewable energy. Investing in renewable energy helps reduce demand for electricity produced by traditional fossil fuels.  The 2009 and 2010 Austin Marathon and Half Marathon runners who purchased the Green Ticket have helped avoid over 700,000 lbs of CO2, which has the same environmental impact as not driving your car over 775,000 miles or the annual carbon absorbed by 1,050 trees.  Furthermore, this is equivalent to recycling over 1,700,000 aluminum cans or recycling almost 280,000 pounds of newspaper.

Your purchase supports certified carbon offset projects and helps take action against global warming.  Your green ticket is brought to you by Green Mountain Energy Company.  www.greenmountain.com

What’s a carbon offset, you may ask? Watch this short clip and you’ll soon know.