When runners cross the finish line at next month’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon, they won’t get plastic single-use water bottles. Instead, they’ll get aluminum ones made by Culligan International, a Rosemont-based water filtration and treatment company.
The roughly 50,000 marathon runners can also refill the metal bottles at Culligan’s portable refilling stations throughout Grant Park during the post-marathon party on Oct. 13.
“By effectively running plastic water bottles out of the marathon, Chicago is demonstrating sustainable leadership as host to one of only six major global marathons,” Scott Clawson, CEO of Culligan International, said.
The partnership with Culligan “is just one of the many ways in which we’re working to incorporate additional sustainable practices into the event experience,” Carey Pinkowski, executive race director of the Chicago Marathon, said in an emailed statement.
The switch to aluminum bottles at the marathon will come after Culligan debuted aluminum bottles at the United Center during the Latin Grammy-winning artist Carin León’s concert. The bottles, whose prices are comparable to plastic water bottles, are now sold at all concession stands.
“As partners to the United Center and Chicago Marathon, we hope to expand access to safe, clean, great-tasting water while reducing reliance on single-use plastics,” Clawson said.
The company also installed 62 water fountains, refilling stations, multi-functional faucets and more than 90 recycling bins as the arena aims to be more environmentally friendly.
“By eliminating plastic water bottles from our concessions and introducing refillable, aluminum water bottles, we’re reducing plastic waste and empowering our fans to make more conscious environmental choices with a purpose-driven, hometown partner,” Joe Myhra, chief operating officer of the United Center, said in a news release.
Switching to aluminum will save the arena hundreds of thousands of pounds of plastic water bottles each year, according to Culligan. The United Center has about 23,500 seats for concerts and hosts more than 200 events annually.
Culligan did not say how much the United Center partnership is worth, but said it would give more exposure to the company and introduce the brand to new consumers.
It marks Culligan’s first foray into aluminum containers. The company, founded in 1936, has more than 30 brands of water filtration systems, including dispensers, coolers and pitchers under names such as ZeroWater, Quench, Zip Water and Purezza Premium Water.
Aluminum is virtually “infinitely recyclable,” meaning it can be recycled again and again, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and it’s free of BPA chemicals that can be found in plastic water bottles.
Latest data for the city of Chicago shows its recycling rate in 2022 was 9.68%.
There are efforts at the state-level to reduce excess plastic use. In August, Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law that will prohibit Illinois hotels from providing small single-use plastic bottles such as shampoo and soap. The Small Single-Use Plastic Bottle Act goes into effect July 2025 for big hotels and January 2026 for small ones.