Volvo Ocean Race Newport Stopover to Contribute to Fight Against Plastic Littering

Saturday, April 21, 2018

GoLocalWorcester Sports Team

Organizers for the Volvo Ocean Race Newport Stopover are asking attendees to bring a reusable water bottle when going to the race village at Fort Adams State Park to help the fight against plastics littering the world.

The request comes as part of a sustainability plan set by the organizers including Sail Newport and the Sustainability Committee for the stopover, 11th Hour Racing, a Newport-based organization that works with the sailing community and maritime industry to advance solutions and practices that protect and restore the health of the ocean, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RI DEM), and the Volvo Ocean Race Sustainability Program.

“The 2015 Volvo Ocean Race Stopover at Fort Adams State Park was a great success on many levels. One of the most heartening and inspiring aspects to me was how it raised awareness and established a new high bar on sustainable practices. Perhaps the biggest impact we can have at the Race Village is reducing the use of plastic bottles – free drinking water will be available to fill up reusable water bottles. Through our work at the event we can change individual mindsets and remove practical obstacles. The cumulative impact of that should be tremendous and ripple out across the seas,” said RI DEM Director Janet Coit.

The Volvo Ocean Race Newport Stopover is scheduled May 8-20 at Fort Adams State Park in Newport.

Contributing to the Effort

Visitors to the Race Village can contribute greatly to the effort through many actions:

· Bike, walk, or make use of a water taxi or carpool to reduce CO2emissions

· Recycle trash and compost food in the properly marked receptacles placed around the Race Village

· Refill reusable water bottle at water purification stations provided by Sweden-based Bluewater, a partner of the Volvo Ocean Race’s Sustainability Program

· Make use of mobile phone re-charging stations provided by PrimoWind, a renewable energy company based in San Diego

· Visit the Newport Biodiesel kiosk to learn more about the environmentally friendly fuel sourced from discarded cooking oils. Newport Biodiesel will provide 18,000 gallons of fuel for generators and the race yachts

· Volunteer for the Green Team

· Sign the Clean Seas Pledge