More than 50,000 participants and spectators are encouraged to join the green-friendly effort

ST. LOUIS - (March 5, 2008) - The GO! St. Louis Family Fitness Weekend, scheduled for April 5 & 6, 2008, is partnering with Veolia Environmental Services (Johnny on the Spot) and Aquafina to make the two-day fitness celebration green-friendly.

More than 50,000 people are expected to participate and watch the seven different weekend events, to be held in Forest Park and downtown St. Louis.

"As you can imagine with an event of this size, an incredible amount of waste is generated, so we recognize the importance of recycling and finding ways to decrease the stress on our environment," said Nancy Lieberman, GO! St. Louis president.

"I applaud the efforts of our partners that are joining us in collaborating to make our event green-friendly. GO! St. Louis' core mission is to promote healthy lifestyles through fitness and nutrition, thus anything we can do to make our planet healthy, parallels with our goals," Lieberman continued.

The green effort will include the recycling of more than 300,000 paper cups used for participant hydration at the events; an estimated 18,000 plastic water bottles at the finish line area and relay stations; thousands of pounds of cardboard from vendors; earth-friendly products used in all of the Johnny on the Spots, recycled product toilet tissue, as well as the disposal of various other plastic, paper and aluminum products.

The earth-friendly chemicals being used in the approximately 270 Johnny on the Spot facilities is an important addition to the effort. The GO! weekend marks the first large scale local event that the new earth-friendly chemicals will be used. In addition, Veolia will coordinate the distribution of the recycling bins and manage the waste collection after the event. Recyclables will be taken to QRS Recycling plants in Hazelwood and South St. Louis City for processing.

"We are excited to be spearheading this green effort with GO! St. Louis and hope it will inspire others to make recycling and protecting our environment part of their daily lives," said Brian Williams, Veolia's Facility Manager.

Aquafina understands the need for all of us to be careful stewards of our planet and its resources - that's why Aquafina has embraced the challenge to reduce their environmental impact. To that goal, as the water sponsor for the GO! St. Louis Family Fitness Weekend, Aquafina will encourage participants and spectators alike to recycle all water beverage products in specially designed Aquafina bins placed throughout the finisher's area. As the official water sponsor, Aquafina has donated 18,000 bottles of water for participants at the finish line area.

In addition to recycling, GO! is encouraging participants and spectators to utilize the Metrolink for transportation to and from the events.

GO! St. Louis, a non-profit organization, encourages individuals and families in the region to adopt a healthy lifestyle by getting fit, staying active and eating a nutritional diet year round. The organization accomplishes this through school based programming, outreach to senior / retirement centers, community collaborations and the creation of new & unique fitness opportunities. For more information, visit: GoStLouis.org