Students in sustainability course help Gazelle Girl race be zero-waste

Students in a special topics course, Sustainability in Sport, helped facilitate a zero-waste event for the April 17 Gazelle Girl Half Marathon and 5K.

Their efforts led to more than 700 pounds of compostable materials and 1,000 pounds of recyclable materials, in addition to 400 articles of clothing for donation. Chelsea Brehm, visiting professor of movement science, said only 55 pounds of trash from the event went to the landfill.

Two years ago as a graduate student, Brehm led a zero-waste event for the Gazelle Girl competition.

At the April event, Brehm said several campus departments participated in an energy-bar wrapper collection campaign for the race. "By collecting and donating foil-lined energy bar wrappers to the race committee, students, faculty and staff helped divert over 700 hard-to-manage items from the landfill," she said.

Participating departments were the College of Education's Center for Educational Partnerships, Office of Sustainability Practices, Human Resources, Pew Faculty Teaching and Learning Center, and Movement Science.