October 2, 2012
It's that time of year again when several solid waste professionals in the Southern Vermont/Western Massachusetts area volunteer at a zero waste event.
The North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival, held the last weekend in September, has been a zero waste event for six years. The all-volunteer coordinating committee made a commitment to recycle at its event inception 14 years ago. Some 10,000 people converge on a small farming community in the outskirts of Orange, Massachusetts to enjoy local entertainment, a variety of foods (with lots of garlic!), hundreds of booths (from artists to farm products), workshops, a family stage, and more.
I began volunteering at the event eight years ago. Event organizers decided to implement compost collection and they were looking for a coordinator. Resourceful event volunteers built low cost wooden "green stations" for recycling, compost, and trash collection. These functional and inexpensive bins have changed over the years as we learned how best to "educate" participants. Five stations are set up around the event—three in the food vendor area and two in the main festival area.
Becoming a zero waste event
Two years after implementing composting, the event was ready to go zero waste! Trash cans are now only located in the portable toilet areas. Volunteers staff the stations throughout the day. The stations feature clearly visible signage (at eye level above the bins); sample serviceware products are posted on the bins as well. The zero waste stations are two colors—green for compost and yellow for recycling. Circular holes in the stations lead into barrels. Compost barrels are lined with compostable plastic bags; recycling with clear bags.
Vendors
A key to compost success is to work with vendors to use only compostable serviceware. From the inception of composting at Garlic & Arts, vendors were required to only use compostable serviceware. As an incentive during the first two years of composting, organizers purchased compostable serviceware in bulk for vendors to purchase at a reduced cost. Vendors will occasionally bring in items, such as coffee lids or straws, which are not compostable. However, now the regular vendors are used to the compost program so cooperate fully; new vendors are provided detailed information and are visited during the event to ensure compliance and answer any questions they may have.
The compost team
Another essential key to implementing composting and zero waste at a special event is active monitoring of the zero waste (ZW) stations. A Garlic & Arts coordinator ensures that there is sufficient coverage of each ZW station during the entire event.
One monitor per station ensures that:
- Attendees are educated, not frustrated;
- Contamination of collected materials is reduced; and
- The need to sort through collected materials is eliminated.
As a zero waste coordinator, I arrive early to ensure that the ZW stations are in place, and signage and serviceware samples are on the bins. I check to ensure that supplies – compostable bags, clear bags, gloves, sanitizing solution, etc. are in our designated storage area. When ZW volunteers arrive, I provide them with an overview of what is compostable and recyclable, and what isn't, as well as a review of composting/recycling logistics, and safety (lifting, not sticking hands directly into containers, etc.). During the event I move around the event and empty full containers, transport full bags of compostables and recyclables to the service area for later removal to the compost operation (and recycling center). I also assist ZW station monitors where necessary.
ZW station monitor duties include: providing a brief "compost talk" to event attendees and helping them sort materials; notifying the coordinator when bins need emptying; and, keeping the stations clean. Most event attendees will be unfamiliar with compostable plastics, so it is important that monitors let them know that the items are made from corn (or potato starch, bamboo, etc.), and that yes, they are compostable at a commercial operation. Since it is a zero waste event, attendees with items brought in from outside or waste items like dirty diapers, are asked to dispose of these in the waste cans by the portable toilets.
Clean-up at Garlic & Arts (as with all events) is extremely busy. Volunteers are pre-assigned to help remove all collection bags and move the bags to a designated location for collection for either composting or recycling. Volunteers are also assigned to pick-up litter.
Zero waste success!
Clear View Composting, in Orange Massachusetts, hauls the collected compost materials for composting; volunteers sort the recyclables for the redeemable containers (nonredeemable containers to the local transfer station for recycling). In 2011, 115 bags of compostable material were collected, weighing just under one ton. There were three bags of trash from the portable toilet areas.
Learning curve
There are still some items that give us trouble. Most are things brought in from the outside. (A certain national donut shop plastic cup is a particular nuisance.). ZW monitors are taught to be on the lookout for these. Also, the "compostable" utensils used are not really compostable. They tend to "melt" into little clumps during the compost process. Several different "compostable" utensils have been tried over the years, and the results to date have been the same. So, once the materials are spread out in windrows at the compost operation, utensils are removed by Clearview Compost staff and Garlic & Arts volunteers. (You may wonder why we continue to require vendors to use "compostable" utensils. With the advances in compostable serviceware that have come about in recent years, there is still hope that the utensils will in the near future compost completely! Also, at least they are made out of plant wastes and not petroleum!)
NERC resources
The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) has developed best management practices and models for source reduction, recycling, and composting at special events that are applicable nationally and for any size event. The resources are available for download aon the NERC website..
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