Zero Waste: Make yours a Zero Waste Event!
Guidelines for Minimising Waste at Public Events
Throughout New Zealand, thousands of people regularly gather at public and private events - at festivals, sports events and community celebrations. Many of these celebrations involve the enjoyment of a huge variety of foods and beverages, and this inevitably leads to lots of waste - empty bottles, used paper cups and plates, plastic cutlery and glasses, packaging, leftover food and drink, plastic bags, and more general waste.
These days, the challenge to us all is the issue of sustainability, and increasingly these events are being run as a "Zero Waste" event.. If you are organising an event or are a member of a committee or club, the guidelines below will show you how to hold an event that will minimise waste and maximise recycling. These guidelines apply to all events regardless of size, and are as relevant to a kindergarten fete as they are to a major international music festival.
Most New Zealanders care about the environment and will be pleased to support an event, whether as patrons or sponsors, where waste minimisation is undertaken and promoted. You can make a real difference. Your environmentally friendly event will minimise waste going to landfill, increase the volume of materials recycled or biodegraded, and make your event a waste management success !
Event organisers have the most influence in minimising waste at public events whether they are a professional company, a member of the public, staff of a school, the management committee of a sporting organisation or a service club. They are often volunteers.
Other stakeholders may find this information useful whether they are site owners, Councils, event owners, sponsors, food and drink vendors, patrons or service contractors.
What is waste at a public event ?
Waste generated at public events can usually be separated into three categories - recyclable, biodegradable, and residual.
Recyclable - glass, and plastics #1 and #2 drink containers; clean paper and cardboard packaging, untreated wood packaging etc.
Biodegradable - materials that will decompose including organic materials such as; food scraps, ’paper’ cups, cutlery and plates made from cornstarch or similar, cardboard and paper.
It is also necessary to consider the disposal of other waste that you can’t find a good home for, such as disposable nappies, cigarette butts, and liquid wastes. There may also be such items as cable ties, plastic bags, broken chairs, and pieces of power cables. These all need to be properly collected and dispose of.
With the majority of New Zealand local Councils now being Zero Waste Councils, they should be your first port of call in your event planning; more and more of them are providing good facilities for recycling, and the latest trend is for them to provide facilities for food and greenwaste composting - check them out for this also!
For a useful guide from Hamilton City, go to:
www.hamilton.co.nz/page/pageid/2145827404/Event_Recycling
Another guide, from Christchurch City:
www.ccc.govt.nz/Waste/Recycling/RecyclingAtEvents.asp
Read the report on the very successful Waitangi day event 2009 which recycled 90% of its waste:
And for a guide from the Zero Waste NZ Trust:
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Guidelines for Zero Waste Event Organisers |