The Movistar Madrid Half Marathon was successfully held on Sunday 26 March with nearly 19,000 runners enjoying a great atmosphere in the main streets of the city. A sporting event for which the Ayuntamiento de Madrid and Ecoembes, the non-profit environmental organisation that coordinates the recycling of packaging in Spain, and within the framework of their collaboration agreement, drew up a sustainability plan to minimise the impact on the urban environment.

Thus, in addition to the various initiatives that were developed during the days prior to the event, both in person at the runner's fair with learning dynamics for the correct recycling of packaging, and electronically through newsletters to participants, many other actions were added this Sunday as part of the protocol.

A total of 90 packaging containers were placed at the disposal of the Movistar Madrid Half Marathon, 60 of them distributed along the course and 30 at the finish line, the usual place for the consumption of bottles, beverage cartons and other energy containers and recovery products. Each of the bins was decorated with a bullseye, a very attractive visual element to facilitate the collection of containers and to encourage participants to dunk. Similarly, the team of staff trained by Ecoembes, a specialist in waste recovery, played a key role throughout the day, guiding runners to the colour of the container in which they should deposit their waste.

Thee awareness campaign developed for the event was a resounding success, as the behaviour of the runners and the organisational staff was unquestionable, fulfilling the required responsibilities with total commitment.

With the action plan put in place during the Movistar Madrid Half Marathon, the Ayuntamiento de Madrid reaffirms its commitment to the celebration of popular mass sporting events within a sustainable framework. Thus, thanks to the established protocol, the urban environment was protected and, at the same time, a second life was guaranteed for all the waste collected during the competition.