Happy Earth Day! Today marks the 45th anniversary of Earth Day and celebrates the efforts of more than 192 countries in supporting environmental protection. Runners in Oklahoma are no different and we take great pride in maintaining and preserving this beautiful state we love to race across. There are even a few local options that Oklahoma runners can utilize to reduce, reuse, or recycle their running equipment.
Reduce
Reusable water bottles made of recyclable materials such as glass or aluminum are a great way to reduce waste that is produced in not only producing plastic water bottles but in the disposal of them as well.
Reuse
If you have a pair of gently used running shoes that maybe didn’t work out , were the wrong size, or just need an update then Soles4Souls is a great opportunity to share those shoes so someone can get some good use of them. Soles4Souls is a shoe charity that gives “gently used” shoes to those in need. The Soles4Souls team coordinated relief efforts for the Asian tsunami and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, netting over 1 million pairs donated for these disasters. There are a couple of metro OKC locations that accept donations such as Brighton Collectibles located at 1901 NW Expressway, Nancy Farha’s at 120 North Robinson, and The Lamkin Clinic at 120 North Bryant Avenue in Edmond.
Beyond shoes, if you have energy bars wrappers such as Clif bars or performance packets such as Gu then Terracycle can help you to recycle them. Terracycle has partnered with different organizations to create a free recycling program and a fundraising opportunity for participants.