BETHLEHEM, Pa. — St. Luke’s D&L RaceFest is going to look a little different this year as officials work to make the event more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
For this year’s event, officials are working to reduce plastic usage by cutting out single-use water bottles and jug, trading plastic medal packaging for paper, and other initiatives.
“We're doing a lot to try and reduce our carbon footprint this year, and really try to align ourselves with our goals for conservation and sustainability,” Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Communications Coordinator Daniel DiBella said.
Set for its third year on Sunday, RaceFest has four events that stretch across the Lehigh Valley, with starting lines in Allentown and Bethlehem, and the finish line in downtown Easton.
"We are very proud of our green initiatives to not only reduce, reuse and recycle but also educate race participants and hopefully serve as a model for other event organizers."Alice Wanamaker, DLNHC’s economic development manager
More than 2,000 racers from 31 states and four countries are expected to participate.
It’s a major fundraiser for the DLNHC as it works to close trail gaps along the D&L Trail.
When complete, it will be the longest multi-use trail in Pennsylvania, stretching 165 miles from Wilkes-Barre, through the Valley, before its southern terminus in Bristol, Bucks County.
"We are very proud of our green initiatives to not only reduce, reuse and recycle but also educate race participants and hopefully serve as a model for other event organizers," DLNHC Economic Development Manager Alice Wanamaker said.
2,000 bottles eliminated
The biggest changes will come at the finish line — there will be no single-use water bottles, nor will medals be wrapped in plastic.
Racers who complete their event will be given a 16-ounce can of pure mountain spring water from Old Farmer Tea Company, a Luzerne County-based beverage producer.
That move alone eliminated more than 2,000 single-use plastic water bottles, DiBella said.
“Growing up in agriculture and still being involved in agriculture, conservation is very dear to our hearts, and so is trying to eliminate single-use plastic,” Mark Maylath, owner and founder of Old Farmer Tea Company said.
“It's almost impossible to eliminate single-use plastic out of all our lives, because we've all become so dependent on it. But if we can make efforts every day to eliminate it, we're moving in the right direction.
"And we're really excited about being involved with the race this coming weekend.”
DiBella said that after racers are finished with the cans, they’ll be collected and recycled by a newly formed Green Team, made up of Easton Ambassadors and members of Easton Environmental Advisory Council.
“By partnering with Old farmer Tea Company and having the recyclable metal cans instead, it’s a little bit easier of a transition — we can still give the same amenities and luxuries to our racers without having to do it with plastics.”Daniel DiBella, communications coordinator for the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor
“Identifying where we had plastic in excess was probably the first step,” DiBella said.
“By partnering with Old Farmer Tea Company and having the recyclable metal cans instead, it’s a little bit easier of a transition — we can still give the same amenities and luxuries to our racers without having to do it with plastics.”
And, the 2,500 medals given out at the end of the race are packaged in paper instead of plastic — a seemingly small change that makes a big difference.
“Rather than having our plastic-wrapped medals that we get every year for our racers, they came wrapped in paper this year to help with reducing plastic,” DiBella said.
420 jugs also replaced
In addition to excising single-use bottles at the finish line, officials also will replace more than 420 single-use gallon jugs at water stations throughout the course with reusable 5-gallon containers.
By using the DLNHC’s regular office water supplier, the jugs for the race were part of the usual deliveries, reducing travel times and also carbon emissions by sparing additional trips, DiBella said.
"Working for an organization that focuses on outdoor recreation, preservation and conservation, it’s only natural that we work toward a more sustainable way of being.”DLNHC Economic Development Manager Alice Wanamaker
Those reusable 5-gallon jugs will be then sent back after the race concludes to be used again. Officials coordinated the pick-up to a single location, further reducing travel and emissions.
While there’s more work to be done for future events, officials said, this year’s changes are a meaningful step in the right direction.
“This year marked the first time we were able to apply our sustainability goals to RaceFest,” Wanamaker said.
“Working for an organization that focuses on outdoor recreation, preservation and conservation, it’s only natural that we work toward a more sustainable way of being.”
Lessening the use of single-use plastics has been a popular topic in recently across the Valley.
Last month, the Lehigh Valley EAC Network heard a presentation on single-use plastic reduction strategies.
The following day, Bethlehem EAC members released preliminary results from a single-use plastics survey targeting restaurants.
For more information about DLNHC’s environmental initiatives, go to the organization's website.
