Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Rockin' the Recycling


The long, hot days of summer are a perfect time to relax and enjoy live music in a beautiful outdoor setting. While listening to your favorite tunes, keep one eye focused on the environmental practices taking place at the festival. The good news is, here in the Pacific Northwest, festivals and events are going green this summer in record numbers. Hopefully, you are seeing this as well in your area.

If not, help the festival organizers along with these Top Ten Tips for Sustainable Events...

1. Talk to your waste/recycling hauler early in the planning process to develop a recycling program
2. Hire/appoint a recycling coordinator
3. Purchase green power for the stage and lighting
4. Use biodiesel to power generators
5. Require food vendors to serve local, sustainable food
6. Do not allow vendors or the venue to serve food in polystyrene and non-recyclable plastics
7. Provide incentives for the audience to use mass transit
8. Purchase carbon offsets to mitigate the travel by artists
9. Develop talking points for the artists to discuss what is being done to green the event
10. Just get started. Choosing even one idea from this list will have a huge impact. Measure what you have done and build on it next year.

As an audience member, don't forget to do your part by taking mass transit, bringing a reusable water bottle and using recycling bins provided.  We're in this together!


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