# What happens with all those water bottles that gets tossed?



## foofighter (Dec 19, 2008)

i know when it's near spectators someone will bring home some souvenirs but when they're in the mountains and out in the open road they just toss them over the guardrail etc is there a rule that someone needs to go and pick those up?

just curious as i've been watching all these stage races over the years and just see them tossing em and never knew what happened to them


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## foxadam (Mar 3, 2007)

spectators pick them up as souvenirs


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## saird (Aug 19, 2008)

The same thing that happens to every other piece of plastic made and produced then discarded - nothing. Out of sight out of mind.


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## andrew9223 (Jun 16, 2009)

When I was a little kid we would go out after and try to find a water bottle from each team. I remember coming home one time with over 20 water bottles and getting yelled at.


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## Mootsie (Feb 4, 2004)

They all have a little hayseed embedded in the bottle and once the plastic brakes down the seed begins to grow. Now you know.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

Mootsie said:


> They all have a little hayseed embedded in the bottle and once the plastic [breaks] down the seed begins to grow. Now you know.


So in 500 years there'll be some hay growing there?


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## Mootsie (Feb 4, 2004)

JCavilia said:


> So in 500 years there'll be some hay growing there?


IF properly watered.


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## kreger (Mar 10, 2004)

i have a euskaltel bottle and a discovery musette bag from the 07 tour. heirlooms


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## foofighter (Dec 19, 2008)

lol

so it's safe to say that if spectators dont pick them up then it's there for good...was thinking especially in the mountain stages where they were just tossing them over the guardrail and down the side of the mountain.


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## nate (Jun 20, 2004)

foofighter said:


> lol
> 
> so it's safe to say that if spectators dont pick them up then it's there for good...was thinking especially in the mountain stages where they were just tossing them over the guardrail and down the side of the mountain.


They throw a lot more trash on the ground than just water bottles. If you think about how much food and gel they eat, plus the occasional Coke, I'm sure it adds up to a lot of trash.


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## Swish (Jul 31, 2004)

A number of teams use biodegradable bottles these days, bottles will dissolve in about a year. I know the TdF enforces a rule that allows bottles to be tossed away only in sections with spectators. What bugs me more is the incredible amount of trash they unload off the sponsor caravan.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

yeah I often ponder on how incredibly carbon-intensive this sport is...but then I think about all the other sports and get back to meh.


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## foofighter (Dec 19, 2008)

that's interesting i didnt know anything like water bottles that biodegraded in a year...interesting

I do find it ironic that for such a "green" sport the amount of waste generated to support the riders makes you go hmm...but like creaky said other sports generate larger carbon footprint


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## natedg200202 (Sep 2, 2008)

I would bet that the trash thrown away by the cyclist pales in comparison to the trash left behind by the spectators.


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## Salsa_Lover (Jul 6, 2008)

green ?

what most buggers me is the number of cars and motorcycles following the race, team cars, mechanics, cameramen, commentators, doctor, etc etc etc... CO2 all over the race.

The worse is the Time Trials, where the team cars follow every rider from start to finish...

In the past at the beginnings of the tours, there was just the "broom car" at the end of the race to pick up the riders who couldn't continue, and the riders had to fix their mechanical problems by themselves.


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## FondriestFan (May 19, 2005)

Swish said:


> A number of teams use biodegradable bottles these days, bottles will dissolve in about a year. I know the TdF enforces a rule that allows bottles to be tossed away only in sections with spectators. What bugs me more is the incredible amount of trash they unload off the sponsor caravan.


Name one team that uses biodegradable bottles that will dissolve in one year. 

I really doubt this. These damn bottles will be around for decades, unfortunately.


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## Maximus_XXIV (Nov 10, 2008)

Some are at my home.


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## Maximus_XXIV (Nov 10, 2008)

Salsa_Lover said:


> green ?
> 
> what most buggers me is the number of cars and motorcycles following the race, team cars, mechanics, cameramen, commentators, doctor, etc etc etc... CO2 all over the race.
> 
> ...


Dont forget the publicity caravan and all the official vehicles in front of the race. Wonder if it is greener than a car race...


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## FredHarris (Jul 13, 2009)

FondriestFan said:


> Name one team that uses biodegradable bottles that will dissolve in one year.
> 
> I really doubt this. These damn bottles will be around for decades, unfortunately.


Cervelo did during the Giro. Don't know about the Vuelta though...


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

They really should be disposing them properly, which means throwing them through the back window of a team car at the feed zone. Preferably, not your own.


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## SlowBikeRacer (Nov 7, 2005)

Monkey See,
Monkey Do...

Littering of bottles is a major problem in our local races in Colorado. Cows eat the plastic and can die or it gets into fields and gets into grain. Not sure why racers think that a 1oz bottle will effect them in a flat sprint?


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## foofighter (Dec 19, 2008)

i think the UCI should impose new rules about that just like they have rules for relieving yourself they should address the litering problem.


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## California L33 (Jan 20, 2006)

Creakyknees said:


> yeah I often ponder on how incredibly carbon-intensive this sport is...but then I think about all the other sports and get back to meh.


In terms of plastic pollution and carbon production it IS a big meh. Think about it terms of worldwide production of each used in all cycling as a percentage. It's going to be immeasurably small.


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## baker921 (Jul 20, 2007)

In the "good old days" riders were disqualified from the TdF for catching the train during stages. Now that really was Green! I doubt they ever new how forward thinking their actions would become.


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## FondriestFan (May 19, 2005)

FredHarris said:


> Cervelo did during the Giro. Don't know about the Vuelta though...


Wow, thanks for the link. That is actually pretty cool. I absolutely stand corrected.

Any idea where these can be purchased? I wonder if my LBS has these in stock.


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## cyclelogic72 (Dec 1, 2006)

Late to this thread, but I heard that for the Giro at least there is a 'clean-up crew' that follows the caravan on every stage and picks up every piece of food wrapper and errant bottle left on the roadside. This, according to David Harmon commentating on Eurosport during the 09 TDF--and he wasn't being sarcastic. He implied the same was true of the TDF. Can this not be verified?


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## foofighter (Dec 19, 2008)

i should look on the TDF official page and see if there's a contact email and see what their official answer is


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## pacificaslim (Sep 10, 2008)

In the Tour of California there was indeed a clean-up crew that followed the race. I picked up half a dozen bottles and the crew was getting all the rest I saw that spectators hadn't already picked up.


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

There are clean up crews. Most are volunteers, but they do spend millions of dollars during the Tour to clean.


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## pacificaslim (Sep 10, 2008)

Yep. People need to remember that what they see on TV is a very small part of the "show".


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## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

FondriestFan said:


> Wow, thanks for the link. That is actually pretty cool. I absolutely stand corrected.
> 
> Any idea where these can be purchased? I wonder if my LBS has these in stock.



I'd buy/use them too starting tomorrow if they were available.


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## California L33 (Jan 20, 2006)

foofighter said:


> i should look on the TDF official page and see if there's a contact email and see what their official answer is


And I hope that official answer would be- 'Don't you have anything better to do?'


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## foofighter (Dec 19, 2008)

LOL just curiosity


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## RkFast (Dec 11, 2004)

California L33 said:


> And I hope that official answer would be- 'Don't you have anything better to do?'


And the secondary answer being "If youre so concerned about CO2, hold your breath until you pass out."


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## framed (Oct 25, 2005)

I've got one thrown in the feed zone by a Domo-Farm Frites rider during the 2002 TdF and one from Michael Boogerd on the Galibier in the 2003 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré.


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## Jwiffle (Mar 18, 2005)

FondriestFan said:


> Wow, thanks for the link. That is actually pretty cool. I absolutely stand corrected.
> 
> Any idea where these can be purchased? I wonder if my LBS has these in stock.


Your LBS would be able to order some out of their QBP catalog. I believe there are a few models available, but one would be the California Springs Bio-Green bottle, or the Tacx bio source bottle. The California Springs bottle is pretty cheap, probably only run you $5. Reusuable, dishwasher safe, even.


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