The BC mountian bikers were Powell River bound but left no waste to be found!
Yesterday Powell River welcomed the likes of 500 bikers and their support teams for the annual BC Bike Race. I stood by as the 500 bikers all quickly road off from the start line and deep into our beautiful trails. Surrounded by a crowd of people there was little garbage to be found on the ground.Like every event though here and there one could find a plastic bottle or empty bag of chips. Constantly though a volunteer would be willing to quickly pick it up.For an event of that size I must congratulate the organizers on the coordination of the volunteers, little debris left behind, and before 9 am the next morning there was not a sign anywhere that over 500 people camping on the beach
Of course we are a society committed to the ending of plastic pollution, and like any major event there was some plastic around. One tip outdoor event organizers should keep in mind is that of large tubs of water,which provide people the alternative to re-fill reusable bottle rather than plastic water bottle. Unfortunately yesterday they were not clearly marked on whom was allowed to use them. When biker’s tried to refill their water bottles they were unsure if they could. Some even never ended up refilling their bottles.
Another helpful hint I would suggest to any organizers is to have obvious recycling stations. From my detective work I could not find away recycling and it seemed all trash even if it was recyclable was thrown into garbage bins. Of course for a traveling event is it hard to transport excess and large recycling stations may have posed a problem.
The last of my observations and this is applies for anyone who uses temporary plastic markings in the forest. People use brightly colored plastic strips to mark directions of trails in the forest for hiking, biking, and camping this though poses a great threat to our incredible forests. Some are collected but many can fall to be spread across the forest floor where animals may confuse them for food. I urge people to use other options than plastic that will sit in the forest polluting.
The BC Bike race though was such an exciting experience for Powell River awakening our quite Willingdon beach and our trails. We welcome you all back next year and are looking forward to far more than 500 bikers next year!
See you next year,
Amelia Gordon
