Waste Diversion at Events

I started diverting waste in June of 2022 at the Skeleton Park Arts Festival.  That summer I learned best practices for how to divert waste at an event, and have been applying those practices for the last few years at other local festivals and events.  

Within this section you will find information and resources about:

•  how to reduce the amount of waste that ends up at landfills 

• how to increase diversion through the sorting of incoming waste

• how to increase what gets sent to composting and reduce the amount of 'recyclables'

There is no such thing as a "waste free" event.  Humans are consumers, and consumption creates waste.  However, the type and quantity of the waste produced, as well as what happens to that waste can certainly be influenced by event organizers.   Each event is unique - where it occurs, the layout of vendors and participants within that space, what is served, and the personnel involved.  Given this variability, it is up to organizers to determine how to adapt best practices to their particular events.

I use case studies of different events I have been involved with to show how best practices can be used in various situations. 

I hope that you, dear reader, find this information helpful and informative.  There is no perfect way to divert waste, but there are best practices!

Key points for best diversion:

• Centralize where waste can be brought.  If your event space is small, ideally this will be one central location.  If your event is large or spread out, you will need multiple locations.

• All waste is sorted by individuals who know how to catergorize what is brought to them (what is compostable in that geographic area, what can be recycled, and what must be thrown away).

• Clean recyclable waste as best you can (reduce contamination)

• If possible, use reusables to serve food and drink

  • If reusables are not possible, encourage vendors at the event to use compostable containers and ban plastics.  Composting is often more localized (requiring less transport of materials) and can be used as a soil amendment - true recycling as opposed to what is mostly downcycling with plastics.

• Encourage vendors to have resonable serving sizes (or various sizes) to reduce food waste.