Small individual actions — planting a tree, eating less meat and opting to ride your bicycle or take public transit instead of your car — can at least start to make a dent on climate change.
The onus is on corporations and larger entities to make the needed bigger impact. Just 57 corporate and state producing entities were responsible for generating 80% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions since the Paris Climate Accords were signed in 2016, according to research from earlier this year.
To say there is a lot of work to do to undo the damage on the environment is an understatement. But every collective step — even a baby step — can help.
When thousands of Bank of America Chicago Marathon participants cross the finish line on Oct. 13, they’ll be running into such an effort aimed at boosting sustainability practices as they quench their thirst. The single-use plastic water bottles racers received in the past will be history. In their place will be the same Culligan International aluminum water bottles that popped up at the United Center last month, Sun-Times Business and Economy Reporter Amy Yee reported.
The idea is for runners to refill the metal bottles at portable stations set up by the Rosemont-based Culligan on the race day, and in their daily lives in the future. Bulls and Blackhawk fans, along with United Center concert-goers, have been encouraged to do the same since Culligan implemented “game-changing drinking water solutions” to the arena.
We can’t throw cold water on such plans.
Aluminum cans are often considered a greener alternative to plastic, as the latter is harder to recycle, leads to degradation, is reused less and contains more nanoplastics, which can lead to health problems. So implementing an environmentally friendly element in a fitness-related event makes sense because it addresses not only “a waste issue but a public health crisis,” Jennifer Walling, executive director for the Illinois Environmental Council, told us.
When bottles can be re-used, fewer water bottles will end up in landfills or the ocean. One person switching up to a reusable bottle can save an average of 156 plastic bottles year, according to EARTHDAY.ORG.
The hope is that companies like Culligan that pilot sustainability initiatives move that way in other areas of their operations, Walling said.
Walling said it was “exciting” to learn about Culligan’s partnerships with the Chicago Marathon and the United Center, where the water filtration and treatment company set up new water fountains, refilling stations and recycling bins.
More of the same is expected at other event facilities thanks to legislation Gov. JB Pritzker signed in August.
Under the Large Event Facilities Act, starting in January, convention centers, sports stadiums and other permanent spaces with a legal occupancy of at least 3,500 people will be required to set up recycling and composting bins in order to reduce single-use plastic and food scrap waste.
Illinois generates approximately 19 million tons of garbage annually, which is 23% more waste per capita than the average state in the U.S. Of that waste material, only 37% is ever recycled, Walling pointed out over the summer.
“This new law will help us make much-needed progress in reducing plastic pollution and climate warming methane emissions,” she said at the time regarding the Large Event Facilities Act.
Resolving all our environmental woes is tough, like catching lighting in bottle. But hitting the bottle — an aluminum one — for water and being persuaded to recycle and compost at a fun gathering could move us to change our habits for the better when we’re alone.
Send letters to letters@suntimes.com
The Sun-Times welcomes letters to the editor and op-eds. See our guidelines.
Get Opinions content delivered to your inbox. Sign up for our weekly newsletter here.
More about the Sun-Times Editorial Board at chicago.suntimes.com/about/editorial-board