In our world of endurance sports, the earth is our playground. When we train and prepare for our big races, or just train to better ourselves the scenery provided is our responsibility, as a population. A shocking fact is that since the 1950’s over 9.1 billion tons of plastic has been produced, and in 1 year the amount of plastic produced is roughly the same weight as all of humanity (crazy right). Plastic pollution is estimated to outweigh fish pound for pound by 2050 (also crazy). So why bring this information up? We all probably know at some rate that plastic should be disposed of properly by recycling. I think this topic is so important to talk about because the change doesn’t happen as a whole, but as each of us come on board we can become that change. The places we love, and the beauty we enjoy need to be preserved by us. So today I want to talk about how we do our part and then provide some potential ways that you too can get involved too.
The Kindest Cup on Earth
For us at UltrAspire, we live for the experience of an adventure, and to be able to provide the best solutions for others to experience their own adventure in the best way possible. We dove deep into the “go cupless” movement by creating what we call the Kindest Cup on Earth. The UltrAspire C2 cup is a 7 fluid ounce silicone cup that has become widely popular among race directors as the new norm for providing water and drinks during their race series.
Americans alone throw away over 25 billion Styrofoam cups per year and most of that will be present in landfills 500 years from now. In efforts to combat this startling statistic, we wanted to introduce the most functional, practical, and environmentally safe alternative to Styrofoam and plastic that we could. The c2 cup stands on it’s own when empty and holds its form while being filled. At the same time, it can be squished down to fit in very small spaces and can even hold hot liquids. Our c2 cup has replaced thousands of disposable cups and has helped to send a message that you are aware, and care.
How can I help to preserve our planet?
I want to give you just a few things you can do, although there are many more options out there to get involved if you wish.
Many groups do weekly or monthly cleanups, you can go out and take a section of an area and work on cleaning up trash that has been dropped. If that isn’t something that happens in your area this could be a great opportunity for you to start something like this yourself. Try using websites like volunteercleanup.org or if you are near a beach use the ocean conservancy app to find local cleanups or launch your own.
From a lifestyle standpoint it’s important to make this second nature. Recycling material that would be considered “environmentally tough” is a great way to get started. From there, you can be conscious of items you buy to see if it has been previously recycled.
Pay attention to your home and transportation use, walk.. or even better, run when you can rather than using your car.
The bottom line is to be aware of your resource consumption, and any effort at any rate is huge in the big scheme of things. Keeping our world of adventure clean is up to all of us, and together we can create the change. How do you help do your part to keep the environment clean?