Kristina Smithe ran the California International Marathon in 2019, drinking glasses of water to stay hydrated, when she began to think about the amount of waste produced by these events. On the return flight, he made the accounts: 9,000 runners, 17 aid stations and something like 150,000 vessels used once and thrown in the trash. “I was surprised that, even in California, it was not sustainable ”Smithe said.
That gave him the idea of something more durable: A light and flexible glass of silicone that could be used again and again. After preparing a design, Smithe asked for his first shipment and tested them in a race in 2021. Now his business, HICCUP EARTHIt has 70,000 glasses that Smithe rent to interested races to replace the typical white paper vessels that can accumulate as windings in the crowded water stops.
Millions of disposable vessels are used worldwide every year. These vessels are usually made of plastic, but even if they are made of paper, they usually have a plastic coating that hinders their biodegradation. And the manufacture of these glasses, and their elimination or incineration, generates gase emissions from Greenhouse effect that heat the planet.
“That is just a small part of the amount of plastic waste we produce, but it is quite visible,” said Sarah Gleeson, solution research manager and expert in plastic waste from the non -profit organization Project Drawdown. “It’s something that generates a lot of garbage, and garbage, depending on what exactly done, can last hundreds of years in landfills.”
While Smithe launched his business, he sent emails to racing directors to ask if his event used disposable vessels. “The answer was always yes”said. Your answer: “If you are looking for a sustainable solution, I have one”. Now, rent the vessels for thousands, take them to the events in giant containers and leave containers with the company logo for collection after use. Smithe collects the used vessels and washed in a patented dishwasher.
In the PNC Women Run the Cities race in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, in early May, Smithe helped satisfy the thirst of thousands of runners, leaving 17 gallon canvas bags full of their flexible blue vessels. After that race, Smithe, 35, estimated that He has taken his glasses to 137 races and has avoided that 902,000 disposable vessels end up in the landfill. It also says that its washing process only needs 30 gallons (114 liters) of water per 1,500 glasses. An efficient average domestic dishwasher uses 3 to 5 gallons (11 to 19 liters) for much less dishes. “It’s just a solution to a problem that has been needed for a long time,” Smithe said.
A disadvantage is that the rental of the vessels costs the career directors more than other options. The disposable vessels can cost only a few cents each, while 10,000 HICCUP vessels would be rented for about 15 cents each. That low price if more glasses are needed. Gleeson, from Project Drawdown, considers that reusable vessels are only one of the many ways in which innovators seek to reduce waste. These solutions often have to be rooted in comfort and based on local or small applications so that more people adopt them. Some cities, for example, are experiencing with reusable containers to bring food that customers return to delivery points near later.
While no solution can completely address the problem, “scalability is there,” Gleeson said. “I think, in general, the high adoption of this type of solutions is what can reduce costs and really maximize the environmental benefits that could be obtained.”