P3R’s Largest Races Honored for Sustainability Practices

PITTSBURGH (February 28, 2019) – The Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC) presented two “Zero Waste Achievement Awards” to Pittsburgh Three Rivers Marathon, Inc. (P3R) in recognition of their commitment to minimizing the amount of solid waste sent to area landfills during their two largest races in 2018.

The 2018 DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon weekend of events achieved a 94 percent waste diversion rate. Approximately 37,673 pounds of waste was either recycled, reused or composted after the race. This is the fifth year in a row the event has successfully diverted 90 percent or more of its waste from landfills. More than 40,000 runners, 4,000 volunteers and 300,000 spectators were part of the 2018 weekend of events, which took place from May 4-6.  

For the third year in a row, the EQT Pittsburgh 10 Miler diverted more than 90 percent of its waste from the landfill. The 2018 event successfully reduced the event’s landfill waste by 1,500 pounds, with over 1,000 pounds being recycled. More than 4,000 runners participated in the Pittsburgh’s favorite fall road race in 2018, which took place on Nov. 4.

“P3R is committed to producing environmentally conscious events and making sure the city looks just as beautiful — or even more beautiful — after our races as it did before,” said P3R CEO Patrice Matamoros. “With the size of our events, this is a challenge, but one that P3R is tackling with a comprehensive approach to ‘greening’ the race and promoting sustainability.”

Since 2011, P3R staff has worked with the PRC to create a comprehensive Zero Waste Program during their year-long calendar of races. Together, they’ve created a system that runs from the start line through the finish line festival to collect and sort as much material as possible that is reusable, compostable or recyclable.

P3R would not be able to achieve its sustainability goals without the support of community partners including Peoples Natural Gas. Like P3R, Peoples is a passionate advocate for sustainability practices and is the Official Partner of the DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon Greening and Sustainability Initiatives.

“We’re proud to participate as the Greening and Sustainability partner of the Pittsburgh Marathon to not only shine another spotlight on Pittsburgh but also on the city’s ethic of sustainability,” said Morgan O’Brien, President & CEO of Peoples. “At Peoples, we support both community and operational initiatives to benefit our environment by monitoring our pipelines for methane emissions to prioritize our pipeline replacement investments to benefit our environment, for example. We are committed to these environmental practices to make lives better in all the communities we serve.”

P3R remains dedicated to sustainability practices and will continue to work with community partners like PRC and Peoples to achieve green initiatives, including composting materials from finish line operations and race course aid stations and donating clothes left by runners to Goodwill. For more information about P3R and its dedication to sustainability practices, visit: www.P3R.org.

About P3R (Pittsburgh Three Rivers Marathon, Inc.)

P3R is a nonprofit organization that is passionate about promoting a love of running and enhancing community access to health & fitness education and activities. Best known for organizing the acclaimed annual DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, we also run a variety of other high-quality races, events, and health and fitness programs throughout the Pittsburgh region. While many of our races attract some of the nation’s highest-profile professional athletes, we offer activities for all ages and ability levels. The only criterion for participation is a desire to be happy, healthy and active! Read more at P3R.org.

About the Pennsylvania Resource Council (PRC) and Zero Waste Pennsylvania

Zero Waste Pennsylvania (ZWPA) is a project of the Pennsylvania Resources Council. In 2009 Zero Waste Pittsburgh (ZWP) was enacted to provide waste reduction services and resources in Western Pennsylvania as a community need. Today, Zero Waste Pennsylvania provides waste reduction techniques to various commercial businesses, residential entities, institutions, and special events across the state. Over the years, ZWPA’s services have been utilized by a wide demographic, ranging from the individual persons to multiple Fortune 500 Companies such as FedEx Ground and Westinghouse Electric. ZWPA and PRC pride themselves with many years of applied expertise in developing creative Zero Waste solutions.