Ever since quarantine, the hubby and I have taken up running. I am definitely more of a “follow you tube videos” and spin class type exerciser – running just does not appeal to me. With every trot on the pavement I feel my soul leave my body. Okay, so that’s incredibly dramatic but seriously, I hate running.
The only thing that can lighten my mood after a tortuous run (and by torturous I mean anything more than half a mile lol) is a nice refreshing beverage. My mother in law had had brought home a Costco pack of the G2 Gatorade. Score!
….until I realized that we were throwing away a plastic bottle every single day. As I watched that recycling bin fill up with bottles, the guilt gnawed away at me. So much so that I almost decided to give up running altogether. Hah, JK.
I ended up looking for sport drink alternatives. Gatorade does sell big cannisters of bottles. It’s definitely less waste, but the cannister itself is not recyclable. The G2 cannisters also did not come in as many flavors. Coconut water was a popular choice and they usually come in paper cartons – but I don’t particularly care for the taste of coconut water.
As I searched for “sports drink” and “sustainable packaging” I came across two brands.
YogaLyte and Liquid IV.
At the time I started looking, and at the time of this post, YogaLyte is sold out with no indication of when they would be back in stock. I’m a bit sad because their packaging is compostable. Hopefully I’ll get to try it soon.
Liquid IV was the next find. Long story short – I thought all their product came in compostable packaging but it turns out it was only one product in their line. Of course, I realized that after I had bought the non compostable version and started drinking it. That being said, their mission is sustainably driven and I hope that they end up shifting all their products to the same packaging. I am generating trash still but if we take into account the space the sticks take up compared to the Gatorade bottles, and the amount of energy that goes into transporting the sticks vs bottles, I think we still come out on top!
Looking for more sustainable sport drinks solutions if anyone has some!
Chop Tsui 