Innovations: Recycling at Special Events

Case Studies

• Del Mar Fairgrounds, California
• San Francisco Bay to Breakers Footrace and Footstock Post Race Festival, California

Del Mar Fairgrounds, California

Overview

The Del Mar Fairgrounds (Fairgrounds) is a 375-acre facility (which is owned and operated by the 22nd District Agricultural Association), and located in Del Mar, California. The facility hosts the annual San Diego County Fair (a 22-day fair with average annual attendance of more than 1.2 million), the Del Mar Thoroughbred Racing Meet (43 days of live horse racing), and a satellite wagering facility (open annually from mid-September to mid-July). In addition, the fairgrounds rents facilities to an average of four to ten events per week. The facility also rents stable facilities at Horse Park for over 200 horses. In total, the fairgrounds hosts more than 3 million in attendance annually.

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Gated Entrance at Del Mar Hotel

Del Mar Fairgrounds Complex

Del Mar Fairgrounds started its recycling program in 1985 by recycling office paper. Since that time staff has expanded the program to include recovery of more than 19 different materials including food discards, beverage containers, and cardboard. The Fairgrounds achieved a 91.3 percent diversion rate for its solid waste in 2005 and has set an ultimate goal of "zero waste, or close."

Locating recycling receptacles near high-traffic areas can increase program visibility. The trash and recycling containers pictured below are located at the Del Mar Fairgrounds near a public phone and an automated teller machine. The Windsor Barrels shown below are for more permanent locations at the facility.

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Recycling Bins in a High Traffic Area

Windsor Barrels in Storage

The current program also uses 64 gallon (above) and 32 gallon Otto Carts (below). The Fairgrounds started with the green containers and went with blue when the cities started using blue for curbside recycling. The two wheel carts allow for easy relocation due to the many events and ever changing needs of the event promoters. The Otto carts are also smooth and work well for decals. Carts made from recycled content product are also available thus helping to close the recycling loop!

The Fairgrounds entry staff works with local schools on a recycling poster contest where approximately 100 classrooms decorate the poster signs provided. The goal is to offer education to fair patrons on the reasons for recycling. The signs are judged and each child in the class receives a ticket to the Fair to come and see their sign on display. The signs are placed in the sign holders built by the Fairgrounds welder. These signs are used for a variety of events throughout the year.

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Recycling Poster Made by Children

Program Description

The number of Fairgrounds recycling staff varies according to needs. The Fairgrounds employs one year-round recycling worker and additional temporary staff members to implement its recycling program. It also hires additional staff for special events, increasing the recycling crew to 16 people during the annual fair. The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club provides additional recycling staff during the thoroughbred racing event to continue the current program.

The Fairgrounds sorts and separates all of its recyclables at on-site facilities. Additionally, in the fairgrounds administrative offices, workers separate mixed and white paper, cardboard, and beverage containers for recycling. The facility implemented a mini trash bin program in its offices, replacing each employee’s desk trash can with a mini trash bin.

Staff members collect other paper, including newspapers, betting slips, and brochures, from the satellite wagering facility and on-site events. Facility janitors and cleaning crews collect the materials which the recycling staff hauls to market.

The facility collects bottles and cans using bag-lined recycling containers placed next to most trash containers on the grounds. These recycling containers are clearly marked and have special lids to discourage patrons from putting trash in with the recyclables. The Fairgrounds staff members collect bags of recyclables from these containers and separate them by material type. Glass is separated by color. A local recycling company picks up most of the roll off containers at no charge and hauls them to a local processing facility. The Fairgrounds is a California Redemption Value (CRV) Community Service Program and all CRV material is paid at the going CRV rate providing a higher value for materials collected.

Food vendors and exhibitors produce a large amount of corrugated cardboard. Their contracts require them to flatten used cardboard and take it to one of several collection points adjacent to buildings. Fairgrounds crew collects the cardboard from specified areas. Next it is baled in 1,000 pound bales. When there is enough for a full load a local recycler hauls it away for free and pays the Fairgrounds top dollar for the material.

During the Annual County Fair, management also requires food vendors and exhibitors to collect pre-consumer food scraps, unsold leftovers, and cooking oil. This is required in the vendors' contracts as well. The Fairgrounds staff members provide two-wheeled carts for collection of food scraps, and a local rendering company supplies covered barrels for collection of the oil.

Recycling crews collect the food scrap containers every other day and deposit the material into a 20 yard roll-off bin. The bin is hauled every 5-7 days to a local composter. The rendering company collects the oil barrels from the grounds as needed. Failure to comply with the fairgrounds recycling requirements can result in a $100 fine per incident to the vendor/exhibitor.

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Food Scraps in a 20 Yard Bin.

The two largest components of the Del Mar Fairground’s waste stream are green waste and animal bedding and manure. Landscaping crews collect green waste such as grass clippings, leaves, brush, and branches and deliver them to a local composter.

The Fairgrounds has three outlets for animal bedding and manure. One of these is a private company that collects and composts shavings from horse shows and the boarding facilities. The Fairgrounds crew collects straw and delivers it to a local mushroom grower. Workers deliver the remaining wood shavings and manure to a local composter.

Del Mar Fairgrounds also recovers construction and demolition (C&D) debris from its facilities. The fairgrounds recycling manager sends asphalt and concrete from parking lots, building foundations, and restroom facility projects to a local C&D recycler.

Table 1: 2005 Del Mar Fairgrounds Waste Reduction Results

The Del Mar Fairgrounds Resource Conservation Policy prohibits the use of polystyrene containers by food providers on site. The fairgrounds has also established a program for purchasing products with recycled content.

Costs, Economics, and Benefits

The 22nd District Agricultural Association receives its funding from facility operating revenues. These include parking fees, stable rentals, building and grounds rentals, and fees paid by vendors. The State funding received by the Fairgrounds has been in the form of grants to support its recycling efforts.

Over the years, the 22nd District Agricultural Association has been awarded more than $110,000 in grant funding from the California Department of Conservation and the California Integrated Waste Management Board combined. The Fairgrounds used these funds to purchase beverage bottle recycling bins, a service cart, and a baler.

The Fairgrounds owned its trash collection equipment and it avoided large capital investments for recycling equipment by converting existing equipment for use in its recycling program. For the past few years, the Del Mar Fairgrounds recycling program has realized a combined financial benefit of over $1 million annually.

Community Outreach

The Del Mar Fairgrounds hosted the 7th Annual Enviro Fair June 10 & 11, 2006. For the first time it was incorporated in the San Diego County Fair on the first weekend. This exhibition focuses on the positive, practical and fun aspects of taking care of our environment. The exhibitors offer environmentally friendly products and conservation services available in San Diego County. Included in this year’s exhibit was a straw-bale house with environmentally preferable bamboo flooring and solar energy.

Challenges and Opportunities in Implementation

According to Nancy Strauss, Del Mar Fairgrounds Resource Conservation Coordinator, “The last 10 percent is the toughest.” In the fairgrounds’ efforts to reach its current 91 percent, the recycling program recovers more than 19 different materials.

To eliminate or recycle the remaining 10 percent of the waste stream at the fairgrounds, staff members are tracking new developments in biodegradable products. These include disposable cutlery and trash bags. Staff members believe that by switching to biodegradable products that can be composted, they could save $30,000 or more per year on trash fees. For more information, please feel free to contact Nancy Strauss at 858-792-4298.

San Francisco Bay to Breakers Footrace and Footstock Post-Race Festival, California

Overview

The San Francisco Bay to Breakers race is billed as the "world’s largest footrace" with as many as 100,000 runners in some years. It is also one of the oldest footraces run annually in the U.S. The race has been held each year since 1911. The 12-kilometer race course stretches across the City of San Francisco, starting at the San Francisco Bay and ending at the Pacific Ocean.

“Footstock,” a post-race festival held at the Polo Fields of Golden Gate Park, features food and entertainment for race participants and their friends. The race has become an opportunity for fun in addition to serious athletics. Some years approximately 5,000 runners participate in costumes representing everything from a large carrot to Elvis Presley.

The current recycling program started in 1992. The Haight-Ashbury Neighborhood Council Recycling Center (HANC Recycling) provides recycling at two water stops along the race route. Additional recycling containers are located at the finish line, along the one-mile path to the post-race party, and in the polo fields during Footstock.

Local independent cardboard vendors assist HANC Recycling in return for the revenues from cardboard sales. These recyclers collect stacked cardboard along the race route and at the Footstock festival. Volunteers from the Guardsmen, a local service organization, also assist the recycling effort.

Program Characteristics

Efforts to ensure the success of the recycling program begin before the race day. HANC Recycling works with event staff to ensure the water containers used are recyclable. They also inform vendors and race participants about the recycling program. Race organizers include recycling information in the race registration packets.

Along the race route, at the finish line, and along the route to Footstock, HANC Recycling focuses on recovering # 1 plastic water bottles and cardboard.

At Footstock, HANC Recycling deploys 12 to 20 individual recycling stations across the field. These recycling stations have 6 to 12 sorting containers for recyclables, are well-marked, and are sometimes staffed by volunteers. HANC Recycling reports staffing at the recycling stations significantly reduces contamination, but they may not have enough volunteers to provide continuous coverage at each station.

Materials targeted include glass bottles and aluminum cans sold by vendors, HDPE and tin food service containers used by food vendors, and wine and juice bottles from picnics held by participants. Cardboard is also recovered from food and T-shirt booths. Vendors can either stack the cardboard for collection or take it to a central collection location.

Costs, Economics, and Benefits

Race organizers contract with HANC Recycling to provide recycling services during the race and at Footstock for approximately $2,300 each year. HANC Recycling uses eight staff members, three 35-yard roll-off containers, and three trucks to implement its program. The sale of #1 plastic and other containers generates approximately $500 per year, which HANC Recycling retains. The cardboard vendors retain the revenues generated from the sale of the material they collect and market.

By diverting recyclables, race organizers eliminate the need for six to eight trash roll-off containers each year. At a cost of $300 for each roll-off, savings have averaged $1,800 to $2,400 each year in trash hauling and disposal costs. Furthermore, recycling reduces the labor needed for post-event garbage pickup on the field and along the race course.

Challenges and Opportunities in Implementation

Food is a major component of the remaining trash from the Bay to Breakers race and Footstock. So far, HANC Recycling has not had sufficient staff and/or resources to implement a food recovery program.

In recent years the City and County of San Francisco’s solid waste management, through its recycling program, has focused on food recovery programs. Initial program focus has been on large commercial food waste generators such as wholesalers, produce markets, food service businesses, and large restaurants. As the City develops these food waste recovery programs, opportunities for recovering food at special events may increase.

Discarded clothing makes up a large portion of material generated along the Bay to Breakers race route. Recognizing the potential for converting this discarded clothing into a useful resource, HANC Recycling plans to develop a program to recover it. The organization hopes to partner with a nonprofit organization-such as Goodwill Industries-for collection and ultimate reuse of the discarded clothing.

Staff levels and the short time frame of the event (eight hours) have proven to be barriers to increasing diversion. Recycling staff must focus on getting things done quickly. This runs counter to the relative care necessary for quality source-separated recycling. Further diversion would likely require more staff resources during the event.

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Last updated: October 26, 2007