Native: “Are you enjoying your ox testicle?” . Homer:Yes, very much so.” . Native:” Really? Are you sure you wouldn't rather have a coconut?”
Posted on 04/29/2019 11:45:21 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
After the athletes cross the finish and excitement of any marathon has died down, what’s left is an aftermath of waste. Bottles and cups litter the course, raising questions about the environmental impact of the bottles and cups used for hydration and left tossed to the side.
This year, London Marathon officials are implementing measures to cut down on this waste—something they hope to expand upon in the future. They have a goal of zero waste by 2020, so a lot of changes will be made. And it will start with runners eating their water bottles.
Yep, eating their water bottles. But it’s not as gross as it sounds: Runners will be provided with seaweed capsules full of Lucozade Sport, an electrolyte drink, in place of bottles. The Ooho! 30mL capsules, produced by tech startup Skipping Rocks Lab in London, can be bitten into to release the liquid. Then, the capsules themselves can be eaten or spit out, since they are biodegradable.
Though this is not the first time runners have been provided with seaweed capsules instead of single-use cups, this will be the largest trial of the Ooho! capsules, according to race officials.
The seaweed capsules filled with Lucozade Sport will be provided at mile 23. There will be more than 30,000 edible Ooho seaweed capsules, which are biodegradable in four to six weeks if you are a little wary of eating them, according to Lucozade Sport. Additionally, three Lucozade Sport stations will use compostable cups.
(Excerpt) Read more at runnersworld.com ...
DANG!
It is their money, but it accomplishes very little. It may be counterproductive for what they say they want to accomplish.
If it costs more resources than the alternative, it is counterproductive.
Why don’t they use coconut shells?
Native: “Are you enjoying your ox testicle?” . Homer:Yes, very much so.” . Native:” Really? Are you sure you wouldn't rather have a coconut?”
Paper is biodegradable.
That would result in a shortage of coconut shells, and if that happens, the Professor will never get that coconut shell radio finished so Gilligan and all the rest can get off that island!
One ounce each. Yeah, that’ll work.
We tend to use bottles cause no telling what was in contact with the outside of any container.
What a stupid idea.
I love how they’re eliminating three water stations along the course to also lower the environmental impact; of course, their training regime for the race encourages taking a small drink every mile. Helpfully, the removed water stations are in the later stages of the race where some beginning marathoners are likely to struggle.
As for the capsules - should runners touch the gloved hands of volunteers rather than having it dropped in their hand, they’ll contaminate that volunteer’s gloves. Who’ll then stick their hands in the tub of more seaweed bulbs to spread it around.
And I’m still unconvinced this isn’t a choking hazard, both as the bulb and the remains of the bulb.
All in all, this is a solution seeking a problem. Just use paper cups, load them into bins, trundle them off to an incinerator and call it a day.
And next we will hear the liberals wail that seaweed should be put on the endangered list....
The good thing you see about living in this day and age is that someone else’s virtue signaling is unlikely to kill you, be it their views on illegal immigrants, their stance on guns, or as in this case, their insistence that rather than use biodegradable paper cups, everyone must use undersized servings of water in containers that seem likely choking hazards.
I’ll bet a paycheck that every genius connected with this nonsense drives a Prius.
What is the shelf life of a pod made of biodegradable material? Apparently it’s weeks.
What a business model.
And I’m still unconvinced this isn’t a choking hazard, both as the bulb and the remains of the bulb.
My first thought!
At around twenty miles into the Chicago Marathon, I grabbed mint hard candy from a basket.
Refreshing, a nice change.
Until it thinned out and I unthinkingly crushed it with my teeth.
I inhaled the fragments, NOT GOOD!!!
Could not catch a breath and dropped to my knees wheezing and coughing.
Someone handed me a water bottle, a small sip, and a huge improvement.
I think the mint fragments adhered to my dry throat?
I finished but felt like crap.
Shouldn’t the runner be forced to wear seaweed clothing and seaweed sneakers, I mean aren’t running shoes made of rubber from OIL?
A pail of water with a common dipper... no environmental concerns
Awesome. Now I can be kicked, tripped AND spit on by runners crowding through the drink stations.
Glad my marathon days are mostly behind me at this point. Runners have gotten increasingly rude in recent years.
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