Cycling as a sport doesn't have a particularly environmentally friendly way of conducting its business, but the need to preserve our planet has reached the peloton. Milram will ride with biodegradable bottles in 2010, while Française des Jeux is using an ecologic jersey.
Milram has already used environmentally friendly products in the cleaning of its equipment last season, according to rad-net.de. For 2010, Milram will also use bottles that are supposed to biodegrade in one to five years, if they are put on a compost or other area with microbes.
Co-sponsor Tacx is delivering 25,000 bottles to the team's headquarters in Dortmund. The "Bio-Bottle" is supposed to provide the same quality as regular bottles. It is made of polyethylene, light, and heat and humidity do not impact the quality of the product. The product breaks down to biogas and biomass.
Française des Jeux' effort is more of a statement than an action. The team said that its jersey is an answer to the climate summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, which is currently underway. The back pocket will receive a green clover leaf, rather than its usual blue.
Other efforts have been made in the past. The Tour of California was trying to go carbon-neutral one year.