Have you ever wondered if an item is recyclable or not, then tossed it into the recycling bin “just in case”? If so, you’ve participated in “wishful recycling,” the practice of recycling items we hope are recyclable without being totally
When people think about reducing the amount of waste an event sends to the landfill, their minds often default to recycling as the main option. However, donating leftover event materials is another way to significantly reduce event waste, with the
Note: These tips apply to composting and zero waste programs as well as recycling programs. When planners think about having recycling at their events, they often think about the program from the guests’ perspective. Will the recycling system be easy
I spend a lot of time up close and personal with trash. I’ve written before about how sorting waste is oddly satisfying. But I haven’t told you how invaluable it is to see your event’s waste first-hand. You can make
We’re all familiar with the pyramid of dietary guidelines from the FDA—that heavily-advertised illustration designed to help people eat a balanced diet. But what if I told you there was a second food pyramid? Instead of illustrating a balanced diet,
One waste-reduction opportunity I’ve noticed recently is one I’ve known about for years, but I never wrote about it because I thought it was too much of a no-brainer. But I encountered it more than once in the last
Plastic is a convenient material for many event supplies. It’s lightweight, durable, and widely recyclable. What’s not to love? However, with some recent changes to the global recycling market, plastic isn’t as easy to recycle as it used to be.
In the industry conversation about zero waste events, it can be easy to get caught up in the numbers. Sometimes it feels like the only question that matters is, “Did the event reach 90% waste diversion?” That 90% benchmark is
As I was working on finalizing the details of the zero waste program for Indy VegFest this year, it struck me how zero waste is more than a sustainability problem. It’s a psychology problem. I’m using the word “problem” here
Second Helpings held its annual Corks & Forks fundraiser at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 14, 2018. I was honored to serve as a sponsor and coordinate the zero waste program for the event, resulting in a waste diversion rate