Volunteers keep BNAC Marathon route clean
“Thanks to the hosts of the water tables and the logistics teams who made sure that they left the route clean and tidy.”
As part of the Benoni Northerns Marathon’s #RunClean campaign to encourage runners and walkers to keep the route clean by using bins and also to reduce the amount of race waste going to landfill, advocate for recycling and a cleaner Benoni, Samantha Choles, and her team of volunteers kept the Benoni Northerns Athletics Club (BNAC) Marathon on March 5 clean.
“We have slowly moved away from filling skips and sending it all to landfill to separating waste and recycling at source.
“Sporting events produce a vast amount of waste, most of which is recyclable, such as water sachets, paper cups, coke bottles, tin cans, glass bottles, and cardboard boxes,” said Choles, also the founder of Litter Bugs.
Choles invited Tshepo Mazibuko from K1 Recycling, a recycling company in Katlehong, to come on board. For the past three years, they have worked together by ensuring cleaners and sorters are on hand.
“This year, Fibre Circle, the producer responsibility organisation for the paper and paper packaging sector, sponsored the costs of 14 cleaners and recycling sorters,” she said.
Seen sorting mountains of waste picked up from the marathon route, Choles and her team were supported by volunteers from Litter Bugs, learners from Jeppe High School for Boys, St Dunstan’s College, Arbor Primary School, Farrarmere Primary School and members of the 9th Benoni Scouts.
“Thanks to the hosts of the water tables and the logistics teams who made sure they left the route clean and tidy.
“While we have a long way to go to make the marathon a clean race, with no littering and zero waste to landfill, this year’s efforts were aided by the donation of bulk bags from LC Packaging and Planet Care, boxes from Mpact Recycling and plastic bags from Plastics SA. The bulk bags certainly helped to contain the waste.”
Choles urged the participants to consider the impact of throwing their sachets or cups on the ground.
“To keep the race clean takes a huge amount of effort from hundreds of people. You can make a huge difference by doing the small act of aiming for a bin.”
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