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What is zero waste?
A "Zero Waste" event is an event that does not produce any waste. Here, waste is defined as anything that cannot be composted, recycled, upcycled, or reused. Waste is produced in many different stages of an event, from the carbon emissions created while transporting materials, to the materials that are thrown away such as food and disposable cutlery.
Unfortunately, 100% "Zero Waste" events are not possible as there is some waste that will not be possible to integrate into a cyclical system of waste disposal, but there are many ways in which you can easily reduce the environmental impact that your event has, regardless of the size or location of the event. |
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How much waste does your event produce?
A typical event attendee will produce 4.2 pounds of waste, 85% of which will end up in landfills. 20%-60% of this waste is food waste, which is the most expensive waste to dispose of both in terms of financial and environmental costs. A lot of the waste at these events is recyclable, however, due to contamination and improper disposal of these recyclable goods, only 18% of the waste sent to recycling centers is eligible for recycling.
"Zero Waste" aims to mitigate the wasteful impact of improper disposal and organization of waste at these events, so that the efficiency of processes such as recycling and composting are more efficient with less recyclable waste being rejected.
While there is no technical definition of a large or small event, a good general guideline to follow is a Small event is one with under 50 people, or that only spans the course of one day. A Large event is an event with over 50 people, and can span the course of multiple days. Any combination of the two is up to you to define!
"Zero Waste" aims to mitigate the wasteful impact of improper disposal and organization of waste at these events, so that the efficiency of processes such as recycling and composting are more efficient with less recyclable waste being rejected.
While there is no technical definition of a large or small event, a good general guideline to follow is a Small event is one with under 50 people, or that only spans the course of one day. A Large event is an event with over 50 people, and can span the course of multiple days. Any combination of the two is up to you to define!
YOUR GUIDE TO planning A "ZERO WASTE" EVENT
THE CONTENT IN These guidelines have been created by the cornell university sustainable design's OSPRI (One smithsonian plastic reduction initiative) team.
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