Laurel Stelter

One Pella High School graduate is helping ensure that riders on this year’s RAGBRAI don’t leave a mess behind in the towns they stop in.

Laurel Stelter is organizing recycling efforts for the state’s annual bike ride this week. Stelter tells KNIA/KRLS News she’s ridden in RAGBRAI for years, but three years ago, took issue with the amount of waste left behind.
“Riders need to stay hydrated, and so that can cause a lot of plastic waste if the vendors on RAGBRAI are selling plastic bottles,” Laurel tells KNIA/KRLS. “Just because the riders don’t really have many other options if they are thirsty, so that can really create a lot of plastic waste that just goes straight into the landfill.”
This year’s ride is set to pass through southern Iowa from Glenwood to Muscatine.