This year’s Principality Cardiff Half Marathon achieved a recycling rate of 94% thanks to its runners and teams sorting waste and using the bins provided.
Through close collaboration with participants and partners, over a 10-year period the event’s recycling rate has improved dramatically – increasing by 82% since 2013 when it was just 12%.
Over this period the quantity of waste has reduced by 34% despite an increase of over 10,000 people taking part. Organisers say this is down to a ‘relentless focus’ on waste minimisation, removing unnecessary items such as plastic goody bags and switching to greener alternatives.
This year, in line with recycling regulations, the event ensured there were separate bins that were clearly labelled for plastics, metals, carton, paper and cardboard, food and glass, as well as a skip for wood.
Out of the 12.91 tonnes of waste generated an incredible 12.15 tonnes was able to be recycled with the help of Cardiff Council.
A spokesperson for Cardiff Council Trade Waste said:
“Welsh Government have set targets for recycling in Wales, outlined in their recycling strategy Beyond Recycling. We are aiming to have a 70% recycling rate by 2025 and there is also an ambitious target of making Wales a circular economy by 2050.
“In other words, this means that we will be a zero-waste nation, where everything will be reused, repaired or recycled. Any discarded materials will be recycled and re-circulated within the Welsh economy with no loss of materials from the system. Cardiff’s trade waste team were delighted to support Run for Wales’ Environmental Goals for a truly green event.”
Run 4 Wales, organisers are the Cardiff Half, are extremely passionate about ensuring its events provide as little impact on the environment as possible.
All of Cardiff Half’s recycling was taken to Lamby Way Recycling Centre to be baled into material streams before being passed on to manufactures to turn them into something new.
Its food waste was taken to an Anaerobic Digestion Plant on Rover Way to be converted into bio-fertiliser for farming and land regeneration. The biogas produced from the process was then converted into green energy.
General waste from the event was also incinerated at an energy from waste plant in South Cardiff – diverting this from ending up in landfill and instead converting the heat from the process into energy in the form of electricity for the National Grid. The ash left over is also turned into road aggregate.
Gareth Ludkin, Head of Sustainability at Run 4 Wales, said:
“We’re so pleased with the outcome of our recycling rate at this year’s Cardiff Half Marathon and want to thank everyone for using the designated bins provided at the event.
“Since 2013, Over 6.7 tonnes of waste have been removed from the event and we are determined to go further in meeting our goal of minimising our overall dependency on plastics and other damaging materials.
“In 2024 the removal of bananas played a huge part in the reduction of food waste – reducing it by 93%. We also saw a 15% reduction in t-shirts produced for the event as runners choose to opt out of taking a polyester t-shirt at the finish. We want to go even further on this.
“We’re committed to reducing the environmental impact of our events and are aiming to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030 and aim to be a climate positive events company by 2040.
“Through our Green Action Plan and initiatives like our Climate Action Fund, our aim is to help balance the impact of our events by supporting sustainable development projects and green initiatives. We’re so thankful to all of our partners and participants who donate to the fund and help us to recycle and minimise waste.”
The Cardiff Half Marathon also partners with Brecon Carreg. The water company provided the event with smaller bottles of water made from 51% recycled material to help reduce plastic waste, with a 100% recyclable label.
