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Main image: Sam Bloxham
This weekend Extreme E – the electric off-road racing series – set a precedent for the events industry by using Eco Sustainable Solutions, a Bournemouth-based waste processor, to convert all the food waste created into electricity.
The final leg of the sport, famous for combining sustainability and speed, concluded in Dorset on Sunday at the Jurassic X Prix.
Organic waste solutions firm Tidy Planet collected the waste from Bovington British Army Military base, where the race took place. Eco Sustainable Solutions then turned 1 tonne of waste into renewable energy.
Extreme E, which has a mission is to make racing sustainable, takes electric off-road motorsport around the globe to some of the world’s most remote locations.
Starting in Saudi Arabia and travelling to Greenland – via Senegal and Italy – this year’s championship came to a thrilling conclusion in Dorset.
The organisers aren’t solely focused on racing; they want to create a blueprint that all events can follow to reduce environmental impact.
As part of this mission to promote sustainability and protect the planet, Extreme E turned its attention to the food waste generated at its race site this weekend.
Eco Sustainable Solutions, a local organic waste processor, used the waste created by the event to generate 1000KWh of electricity, which is enough to power around 85 houses for a day.
‘We’re a family-run firm that’s been established for over 28 years – seeing us recycle over 250,000 tonnes per year of organic waste from Dorset, Hampshire, and Wiltshire. And throughout that time we’ve always been passionate about creating sustainable solutions that reduce landfill and have a positive impact on our planet.
‘We are so proud to have been involved in turning the waste from this event into something useful, particularly useful for a sport that depends on electricity at its core! And we’re incredibly excited by the possibilities this event has opened up, showing the potential every event has to minimise the mark left on the environment. Every time we process waste from events, we’re moving one step closer to a more self-sufficient, circular system.’
TRISTAN DAMPNEY
Marketing manager at Eco Sustainable Solutions
Extreme E teams are owned by some of motorsport’s biggest names, including World Champions Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button.
The incredible results from this event could soon influence the wider world of motorsports, and the events industry in general.
‘Sustainability and environmental care are deeply important to Extreme E – after all, the purpose behind the series is to raise awareness of climate issues.
‘At the Dorset event, we made sure to reduce as much waste as possible, and where it was unavoidable, we aimed to implement closed loop solutions with the smallest possible carbon footprint, such as processing it to create renewable energy.
‘We’re really pleased with the end results and hope that others in the motorsports and events industries will look at what we achieved and be inspired to try and replicate it themselves.’
ANDY WELCH
Extreme E’s utility manager
The success of the weekend could also encourage other Dorset-based events – such as the Bournemouth Air Show, which by nature has quite a large carbon footprint – to make use of the local waste processing facilities on their doorstep and take steps to become more sustainable.
Before being processed by Eco Sustainable Solutions, the waste was collected and dried on site by Tidy Planet.
‘It was fantastic to support the sustainability initiatives at Extreme E’s Dorset event on Sunday. We’ve spent years honing our methods of handling food waste, and we’re so pleased we could lend our experience to this event.’
HUW CRAMPTON
Sales manager at Tidy Planet
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