The Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC) presented a “Zero Waste Excellence Award” to Pittsburgh Three Rivers Marathon, Inc. (P3R) in recognition of their commitment to minimizing the amount of solid waste sent to area landfills during the 2017 DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon weekend of events. P3R was one of only two organizations to achieve a gold standard in the category.
The 2017 DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon weekend of events achieved a 90 percent diversion rate. While Zero Waste can be a difficult goal to reach, approximately 20.39 tons of waste avoided the landfill last year through source reduction, composting, recycling and food rescue. This is the third year in a row the event has successfully diverted 90 percent or more of its waste from landfills.
“Since 2011, we have partnered with the PRC in our ‘race to zero waste’ during the annual DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon weekend of events,” said Dee Stathis, P3R COO/Director of Marketing and Operations. “Additionally, P3R is proud to collaborate with government agencies, large corporations, small businesses and nonprofit organizations to use the same sustainability model throughout our year-round calendar of events.”
Race organizers like P3R face many challenges when creating a sustainability plan for a 26.2-mile race that annually attracts over 40,000 participants, 4,000 volunteers and 200,000 spectators. The organization would not be able to achieve its sustainability goals without the support of community partners like Peoples Natural Gas. Like P3R, Peoples is a passionate advocate for sustainability practices and recently signed on as the Official Partner of the DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon Greening and Sustainability Initiatives.