Should finisher's medals be ditched to help the environment?

I've only done one event which had a medal.... It was only £10 for the sportive too and I didn't do it for the medal btw....

I try and avoid paying £40 for the signposted ride with a medal ones, personally I have no interest in the "tin" badges just riding areas away from my locallity and local CC ones suit me 

But.... you pay your money and take your choice..... my number and strava is good enough for me....

1. Make them optional
2. Change it to a badge (no ribbon - metal is recyclable)
3. Make the whole badge out of biodegradable/recyclable material
4. Make those that wish to get a medal pay a surcharge that goes to paying individuals to clean up after the sportives/donate the money to an environmentally beneficial charity
5. Save debates like these for helmets and powermeters

Fin

How about a compromise - keep the medal, ditch the ribbon. The metal bit is, at least, recycleable.

One race I've done a couple of times gave out slate coasters to the finishers, which are quite nice, but probably not sustainable long term.

I've had a couple of half-decently fitting technical t-shirts from another event - 1 went to a charity shop because of the colour, the other still gets worn at home.

I'd say definitely scrap cheap cotton t-shirts, but I've found the couple of them I've acquired very comfortable to sleep in when I go camping.

I still think it's nice to have some sort of momento - I've kept all my event numbers in a drawer, but some of those are pretty stained from mud and rain on the day.

Having received numerous medals for running and cycling events, I would scrap them.

I now have more than I know what to do with and have recently put a load into metal recycling.

When do you look at them afterwards? - almost never

Can you use them for anything? - No

Best thing I've had after an event is a commerative mug.

You used it to go and get your Cuppa after the vent and then you take it home.

I still use one of mine when I'm having a brew and cleaning the bike. I'd use it in favour of using one of the "house" ones. It gets used and wouldn't really matter if it got broken.

Having seen a recent (Stacey Dooley?) documentary on the environmental impact of the fashion industry - cotton in particular isn't exactly environmentally friendly as a "all natural" product might lead you to believe - loads of chemicals/energy involved. 

So replacing a gong with a cr@ppy T-shirt isn't the answer.

Sew on patches isn't so bad- maybe we could sew them onto a leather or denim vest just below the "5%" or under the Hells Angels CC rockers!

I don't do many cycling events but i have a couple of sew on patches from things i have done and these get sewn onto my carradice bag. Would rather have one of these or a casual tee shirt of the event that would get worn.

I do a few running events a year and usually end up with a cr@ppy finishers medal and an ill fitting technical tee. These go in the bin/charity bin else i'd have hundreds by now.

Good idea. If that is needed to get you on the bike grow up.

Agreed its a silly little thing but if every event did it it would have a small impact. Each little step is important. To say otherwise is like saying that its ok for one person to contribute to global warming as long as others don't.

Isn't a paper certificate and your .gpx record enough?

What ever happened to tea towels? We had them all the way through Primary school with pictures of our faces (that we drew) on. Still got them, still disappointed by my penmanship. 

Why not a tattoo? They seem pretty popular with IronMan fans and competitors, they'd sort out the (wo)men from the boys/girls in the memento collecting stakes and no wastage. Win/win if you ask me.

I had dozens of medals from distance running events I did for about 20 years from the early 1980s, they have all been binned except my London Marathon medal and a nice ceramic bell I got for finishing in the top 100 (out of 3,500 starters) in a 10k in Stoke on Trent.

The medals seemed nice when I started competing but as they piled up I came to the realisation that a gong just for finishing was pointless.

The medals from my handful of cycling sportive have gone in the first bin I found after the finish. I keep my number as a souvenir though.

It would be a fine idea for people to collect 'stamps' within their own personal cycling passport. Like a brevet card or sticker album, but one which never gets 'filled' up unless you run out of pages. 

It’s an interesting concept, but I’d be interested to really know the environmental impact of finishers medals. I don’t think there is any harm in doing this, but is a medal any more impactful than the photograph? Some tangible reward for finishing is an important part of the sportive process for some (many?) 

Personally I couldn't care less about getting an utterly meaningless medal...would be different if it was for getting podium at a race or for some epic distance or for something out of the ordinary.

Events like London to Brighton where lots of mostly non (lycra clad) cyclists ride for them a big distance is different - it means something...for a club rider or someone who rides regularly do you really need a medal once you've done your first 60/100 etc? Is it an achievement to ride at 15mph for a few hours? For those where it is then yeah, I get it'd be nice to have a medal but my point it I dont think it is an achievement for many people, it's just about collecting something which'll end up in a  box in the shed.

Hasn't stopped me telling my little one I've won ride london twice, so despite the above I do find some value in them

One final thing - there are people in my club who go crazy for a medal - they literally will not go to some events unless they are sure they'll get one...which I find pathetic but I'm sure other people have this attitude too and it may impact the events organisers...

Still use the Powerade bottle I got on my first sportive. Only medals I've kept are RideLondon - I'm on a bit of a declutter/avoid consumption drive at the moment. Systematically sending back catalogues and junk mail, and cutting back where possible on packaging and other useless stuff. Last few sportives I've done I've refused the freebies unless they're gels/cake/other consumables

Cup of tea and a piece of cake will do me. No need for a crap medal and the rest of the tat given out. Wait, perhaps Audax is the way to go...

Muttley finishing a sportive...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qkSe4YM7EY

I've kept a handful (5, I think) of sportive medals, where I've particularly enjoyed the ride and/or it was distinctly memorable for some reason.  Would I care if I'd never been given one?  No.  Particularly if it was for "Bike Oxford"</sportive_snobbery>

Badges?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI9jFp0cnig

and the original 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqomZQMZQCQ

Having seen some of the professional event photographs, I'm not sure that a) they're worth £4-6 or b) that I'd call it an adequate memento.

I'm sure there are other ways to maximise their profits cut their costs be more environmentally friendly.

Ive done a mix of both events with and without medals, and I know personally at least I dont get anywhere near the same satisfaction or sense of achievement at the without medal events as I do at the ones where I get a medal. without a medal it  just feels like a long bike ride which I dont have to pay anyone to do in reality.

Certainly swapping for a photo is not comparable reward as I struggle to appreciate photos of me at the best of times, when Im a worn out mess covered in however many hours of dust,grime,mud or sweat that Ive just been through, it would go straight in the bin.

the eco angle is just an excuse imo

Sounds like a cost cutting exercise or bad planning, I you have 1000 entry’s you only need 1000 medals , some may not be claimed for DNF but it’s must be a small percentage going for recycling.

Getting rid of all advertising junk in you race pack would be a better way of reducing waste