Article Written By: Minseo Cha
On the 28th of April, more than 41,000 people will run the London Marathon. London marathon 2019 is a little different from other marathons - when the runners reach mile 23, they will be handed edible pods made of seaweed instead of a plastic water bottle. This race marks the first time the seaweed pods are used at a marathon.
The London Marathon race organizers hope to reduce the massive amount of plastic waste generated during the endurance run. Providing water in seaweed pouches will contribute to achieving their goal; cutting the number of plastic bottles used by 200,000.
The Ooho seaweed capsules are made by Skipping Rocks Lab, a London-based startup. The thin membrane that forms the pod is tasteless and edible, and are cheaper to produce than plastic. The startup’s co-founder, Rodrigo Garcia explains the process; “We remove all the green stuff and the smelly stuff” of “the building blocks of seaweed.” The pods biodegrade within 6 weeks if they’re not eaten, while it takes 450 or more years for a plastic bottle to decompose.
Using seaweed pods is just one of many steps the London Marathon organizers take to make the event more sustainable. Energy drinks will be served in compostable (capable of disintegrating into natural elements, leaving no toxicity in the soil) cups at other drink stations. On the contrary, to 2018 London Marathon, which used 919, 676 plastic bottles, this year’s race will use only 704,000 plastic bottles, 30,000 edible capsules, and compostable cups. All water bottles handed out will be at least partially made of recycled plastic, and the discarded ones will also be recycled.
Hugh Brasher, the event director, said that London Marathon wants to be a leading group in sustainability. “The changes and the trials we’re introducing for this year have the potential to change how mass participation events are delivered in future,” he added.
Bibliography (MLA 8 FORMAT):
Website Citations:
Website 1:
Kottasová, Ivana. “Seaweed Pouches Will Replace Thousands of Plastic Bottles at the London Marathon.” CNN, Cable News Network, 27 Apr. 2019, edition.cnn.com/2019/04/26/business/london-marathon-seaweed-water-bottles/index.html.
Website 2:
Scott, Ellen. “Seaweed Water Pouches Will Be Handed out at the London Marathon.” Metro, Metro.co.uk, 27 Apr. 2019, metro.co.uk/2019/04/27/seaweed-water-pouches-will-handed-london-marathon-instead-plastic-bottles-9329037/.
Photo Citations:
Photo 1:
Magra, Iliana. “London Marathon 2019: Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei Dominate.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 Apr. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/04/28/sports/london-marathon-2019.html.
Photo 2:
Whitwam, Ryan. “Seaweed-Based Water Pouch Aims to End the Need for Plastic Bottles.” ExtremeTech, 13 Apr. 2017, www.extremetech.com/extreme/247672-seaweed-based-water-pouch-aims-end-need-plastic-bottles.