Race to Circularity

The 2023 Miami Marathon - Powered by the Infinite Bottle Project. 

Running the Miami Marathon is breathtaking. (Literally because you’re running), but also because your route is filled with tropical views and sounds of the city. It’s one of the most exhilarating marathons in the country. But can you imagine all the single-use plastic water bottles that end up scattered across the race route, completely tainting the view afterward? 

Nope. Not at the Miami Marathon.  

We partnered with the Miami Marathon to not only provide a sustainable bottled water option to runners and spectators, but also to activate the Infinite Bottle Project – recapturing used Proud Source Bottles to be put back into the supply chain as raw aluminum.

Large scale events can create a high volume of waste, but the Miami Marathon by Life Time took necessary steps to leave a much smaller footprint. They are a leader of sustainability in their industry, and we’re proud to be a part of it. 

The Miami Marathon not only removed plastic bottled water, but they had stations to refill Proud Source Water bottles on site, and they partnered with the Infinite Bottle Project to have onsite recycling! Learn more about their impact: Miami Marathon Sustainability. 

We distributed 31,389 Proud Source Bottles at the Miami Marathon this year – diverting 31,389 plastic water bottles from the landfill, that may have otherwise been purchased. Aluminum is infinitely recyclable: it will never lose it’s material value and can be remade into a new product over and over again. 

The Infinite Bottle Project is powered by our partner, Replenysh, a community-powered collection network with individuals who activated on-site at the Miami Marathon to capture, sort and collect the used aluminum bottles and cans. 

Today’s methods of recycling materials all in one bin can cause contamination resulting in a lower recycle rate. Replenysh works to separate, collect, and ensure materials make it to the most efficient destination to be recycled into a new product. Replenysh is focused on destination not diversion. The weight and monetary return of the material in the pick-ups can all be tracked through the Replenysh app. This process creates more transparency in the recycling system and allows for higher recycling rates. 

Fun Fact If every aluminum bottle and can was recycled we could create a circular economy – ensuring products and materials stay in use, while recapturing waste to be used again as a resource for new products.

Here’s how the Infinite Bottle Project works: 

• After the race, runners placed their empty Proud Source aluminum bottles and cans into large supersacks – able to hold 50lbs of aluminum!
• The aluminum-filled supersacks were loaded onto a truck by the Replenysh Team and taken to a metal scrapping facility.
• The aluminum is then melted down and made into a new aluminum packaged product.

During the Miami Marathon we were able to recover 791 lbs of aluminum. This aluminum can now be directly made into a new product! 

We are thankful for our partners, like the Miami Marathon, who are making a huge difference in their industries by choosing sustainable options like Proud Source Water! 

Cheers to Circularity!