Delivering sustainable events: waste management

An important component of the World Athletics Sustainability Strategy that was unveiled in 2020 is to embed sustainability principles into all the events we own, such as our World Athletics Series events, and all the events that we sanction, such as the Wanda Diamond League, the World Athletics Continental Tour, the World Athletics Indoor Tour, the World Athletics Cross Country Tour, the Combined Events Tour and the Race Walking Tour.

To do this, we've developed two tools: a Sustainable Events Management System (SEMS), which provides best practice guidance for organisers to incorporate into their event planning and implementation and a tiered Athletics for a Better World sustainable event standard, a scalable, global standard - a scorecard of sorts - that includes a set of expectations based upon the SEMS guidance which will measure an event's level of achievement in sustainable practice.

To help organisers, we’re providing a reference series of stories that address 12 key areas of sustainable event planning and delivery. Each of the stories will be updated regularly to highlight some of the freshest ideas and innovations in sustainable event planning.

This article looks at waste management, one of the most challenging elements of an event’s sustainable delivery plan strategy.

Note to race and event organisers: do you have some positive examples to share? Let us know and we’ll include them here.

Last updated: 18 March 2022

First: what is a sustainable event? 

Simply put, it's an event that aims to minimise to the lowest possible degree the negative impacts that the event has on the environment. That's done by reducing the event's consumption of resources while also leaving a positive social, environmental and economic legacy for the community hosting the event.

Achieving carbon neutrality in an event means balancing the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere with the amount that is absorbed or removed.

World Athletics recognises that the sport of athletics, particularly through the delivery of its events, produces a significant carbon footprint. However, through the sport and its events, athletics also has an opportunity to embrace, utilise and showcase innovative technology to achieve carbon neutrality by encouraging carbon mitigation in priority areas of energy and resource consumption, travel and transport, food and beverage and waste management.

First steps? Reduce and then reduce some more

Sound waste management is key to any event planning: it will lead to a reduced carbon footprint, increased sustainability, minimise impacts on species and habitats through pollution and littering and lower financial costs. A large component of waste management starts through minimising the actual waste produced during the procurement phase of an event

Every event requires products and equipment to function, but in order to be more sustainable, it requires a concerted effort to reduce the amount of waste from the event that is sent to landfill. Landfill should be considered a final resort in waste management. Rotting waste in landfill releases methane, a greenhouse gas which contributes to global warming.

However, it is possible to vastly reduce the environmental impact through effective waste management. It is an area in which event organisers will have to follow local legislative guidelines and will require external contractors who can activate a sustainable waste management plan.

Contractors should be taken on the basis they are able to best meet the waste hierarchy model.

Waste is produced at the event offices prior to events and on the event site during the build-up, event delivery and event breakdown. Waste streams from event offices include paper, electronics, batteries, cleaning products, food packaging, waste food, left-over food. And at the event, branding, glass, packaging, overlay waste and equipment can all be added to the list.

Of course, each event will be reliant upon the local facilities and infrastructure, but a baseline of 60% of the total waste to be recycled and none to be disposed in landfill is a reasonable target.

In the waste hierarchy, the first stage is prevention by eliminating any unnecessary waste. This should begin with a full review of all waste, identifying the sources and seeking alternatives to eliminate waste.

Common to all World Athletics events is an ambition around the elimination of single use materials and products such as bottled water.  Where it is not possible to eliminate waste, the reuse potential should be assessed. 

This includes exploring the rental market for equipment, ensuring branding is designed for reuse on an ongoing basis and edible leftover food is made available for collection by organisations who specialise in this area.

Recycling is where the waste material is processed into the same or similar materials. Often this requires expert guidance from waste management contractors from the point of procurement. They will be able to advise on materials that are easily recyclable and those that are less so, despite how that particular product is marketed. This is particularly valuable knowledge when it comes to plastics.

Continuing through the waste hierarchy, recovery relates to a process where waste materials are incinerated and turned into energy. This includes black bag waste of non-recyclable plastics or contaminated recycling which can go to a waste-to-energy plant and incinerated to produce energy.

The next stage is treatment, where the waste is treated before disposal into the natural environment such as wastewater. Organisers need to be aware of any equipment wash down requirements and the cleaning products used to ensure that they can be disposed of without treatment.

Finally, disposal should be avoided where at all possible to eliminate waste bound for landfill. There are increasing opportunities to recover materials such as paints, carbon fibre and resins and should be explored. These may only be available through specialist contractors.

Similarly, other hazardous or special waste such as batteries, oils and waste electronic equipment will need to be separated and disposed of according to local regulations. These should be identified at the waste planning stage.

Best practice example: The Chicago Marathon

Mass participation running events are among the most challenging event to deliver in our sport, with a large infrastructure required, both temporary and permanent. With tens of thousands of participants and supporters, the potential for massive amounts of waste looms large.

The Chicago Marathon is one such event. And as one of the World Marathon Majors with 45,000 participants every year, it is renowned as one the foremost running events in the world. But it has also led the way in sustainability and its approach to waste management. 

The organisers began their environmental journey in 2010. And they took the first steps with expert guidance on hand, says Sustainability Manager Cat Morris.

“One of the initial steps the Bank of America Chicago Marathon took was to engage the Council for Responsible Sport, a leading not for profit specialising in helping organisations measure and certify the social and environmental impacts of their events.

“We first certified the Chicago Marathon in 2010, and have earned consecutive, uninterrupted certifications ever since. In 2016, we became the largest marathon to reach Evergreen, the highest level of certification.”

Year on year, the event has built its sustainability credentials in key metrics such as energy use, the amount of waste generated and diverted from landfill, and community giving. The organisers also use their story and the expertise they have built to mentor other events in sustainability. 

Although at first the challenge around waste was daunting, they identified and enacted practical changes that made a real difference.

“At first glance, the amount of waste can be overwhelming,” says Morris. “As we continue our work to track and analyse the data, as well as find innovative ways to reduce our waste, including the use of more reusable materials and sustainable methods of producing the materials we use, it has become more manageable.

“We began our first composting efforts on course in 2014, which presented many challenges, from sourcing cups that would be accepted at a compost facility to finding a facility large enough to receive up to 1.8 million used water and hydration cups. 

“In 2019, through working with partners like Gatorade in sourcing a BPI-certified (North American standards for compostable packaging) compostable cup and with the assistance of the Illinois Food Scrap Coalition in finding a compost facility, we successfully collected and composted approximately 11 tons of organic waste, including cups from all aid stations, as well as banana peels and other food scraps from the event.”

Broadening their efforts

 As their waste management systems became more robust and effective, organisers have sought to broaden their approach with further innovation.

“In 2018, we introduced Zero Waste Stations throughout the event footprint,” Morris continued. “They are staffed with Green Team volunteers instructing participants to place refuse onto tables, where the waste gets sorted into recycling, composting, upcycling and landfill bins.

“This ensures all discarded items flow into the appropriate waste stream and reduces the amount of waste sent to the landfill. By interacting with the participants and educating them on how the waste is processed, we hope to inspire individuals to take what they learn from the event and take action at home.

“Our team is constantly finding ways to reuse old materials instead of disposing of them, such as using old signage stored in our warehouse and creating zero waste bins from it for use in our hospitality tents. 

“We’re designing multiyear marketing campaigns, allowing for the reuse of materials year after year. In 2021, we made the event’s participant guide and official program available in digital format only, resulting in over 25 tons of paper not being used. 

“We eliminated carpeting in common areas of the 2021 Abbott Health & Fitness Expo, reducing the event’s environmental impact by removing the carbon emissions created from manufacturing the carpet as well as shipping carpet to and from the expo.”

Chicago is not alone in its responsible approach to waste management. At the Frankfurt Marathon in Germany, organisers say that 100% of the recyclable waste generated from the race is collected and processed. In the UK, the Bath Half Marathon is one of many races that have gone plastic-free. They eliminated single-use plastic water bottles with tap water and compostable cups.

Change can be challenging, but for the Chicago Marathon, the reaction has justified the environmental evolution of the event.

“The response from sponsors, volunteers and runners has been overwhelmingly positive to the changes we’ve enacted,” concludes Morris.