Waste Prevention

By Jennipher Murphy, Novice Explorer

Here at The Offset Project, we work diligently to provide local venues with zero waste management. This includes recycling and composting efforts at many of the premiere special events on the Monterey Peninsula and is done by working closely with event organizers and promoters in the planning of their events. We help reduce their carbon footprint by making the most sustainable choices possible. A lot goes into zero waste management and there are pros and cons to the way we choose to recycle and compost at these events. We are constantly struggling with the choices we need to make while balancing the rewards and successes. As we reflect on our efforts, there are always ways to improve and the secret is to identify our challenges and barriers and to find ways to continually advance our process.

One of our biggest challenges is making sure that the materials that are placed in the recycling and composting bins are items that are correct and not contaminated. The bane of our recycling efforts is “contamination” which are items that are mixed in with the correct items; for example food left over on the recyclable or grease deposits on cardboard etc…. This makes processing more difficult and expensive and can actually decrease the value of the recyclables. Some businesses are turning towards “3-Dimensional Recycling Signs” as a great tool to inform individuals of the proper way to recycle and they place them right at the source. This could be quite helpful but we have gone a step further by having our Zero Waste volunteers manning these bins, answering questions guests have or quickly correcting mistakes in the bins. We also feel that because are bins are very specific, it allows individuals to place items correctly which decreases our time spent on sorting. Another way we are meeting this challenge is to involve a larger participating group, the Zero Waste team, which cuts down on the incorrectly placed items and at the same time, increases our education efforts.

The Offset Project practices these initiatives at every event but we are still falling short. We feel we are still spending too much time correcting guest’s practices so we have begun looking at waste prevention as a way to improve. Waste prevention is simply creating less waste by consuming and disposing less which can decrease the amount of incorrectly placed items and save businesses and events a ton of money. Waste prevention is synonymous with reuse and reduce. We are discovering that planning ahead is one of the most important steps to a zero waste event. Events can be so hectic that event coordinators end up running around putting fires out and spend less time overseeing proper composting and recycling efforts. The planning process is not only about using compostable flatware, plates and napkins but we have come up with a list of other items in our pre-planning checklist:

• Identifying the biggest % of waste produced and setting goals. Is it bottled water or food?
• Communicating waste reduction goals to all stakeholders and getting everyone on-board.
• Defining materials needed for the event and looking at alternatives such as serving bite-sized foods that require no utensils.
• Choosing green vendors.
• Reducing paper usage.
• Educating guests about zero waste efforts beforehand.

The event promoters need to champion their green messaging by ensuring that their internal culture is on board and TOP needs to support them. As we continue expanding our outreach and efforts there will inevitably be more challenges and even more improvements. Please take a moment to share with us other ways we can improve the planning phase by commenting on this blog! Thank you for sharing.

For more information on recycling at events: http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/ and

 http://earth911.com/how-to/how-to-recycle-at-your-earth-day-event/