"Innovations" Case Studies: Recycling at Special Events

General Information

• Overview
• Program Characteristics

Overview

As communities seek to reduce waste disposal, interest in diverting waste generated at public events has grown. Special events may be held at venues specifically designed to host such events (stadiums, fairgrounds, convention centers) or at venues designed for other uses (public streets and parks). While not every community has a permanent event venue, most communities host numerous special events over the course of a year. These events pose a challenge to recyclers because the waste stream often contains large amounts of single-use products and food discards. Multiple vendors often serve participants.

If obstacles to recycling can be overcome, benefits can accrue to both communities and event organizers. These include contributing to reaching 50 percent waste diversion as required by the Integrated Waste Management Act (AB 939, Sher, Chapter 1095, Statutes of 1989 as amended [IWMA]). The practice of recycling generates good publicity for event organizers, and it reduces waste disposal costs. It also generates goodwill among attendees-the public likes recycling at events. People often express a desire for recycling opportunities when they are not present at these events.

The amount and type of materials generated varies by event size, venue, and event type. The waste stream from a special event can be substantial. The 30,000 patrons at the 1999 Whole Earth Festival in Davis, Calif. produced more than 15,000 pounds of discards.

Attendees at the 1997 Common Ground Country Fair in Unity, Maine, produced an average of 0.46 pounds of discards per person for a total of nearly 28,000 pounds of trash. In this town of under 2,000 residents, the fair produces nearly 2 percent of the town’s total annual municipal solid waste.

The estimated 110,000 ticket holders and tailgaters that converge on Penn State University’s Beaver Stadium in State College, Penn., produce approximately 22 tons of recyclables and trash at each football game.

Recycling at special events is growing. Numerous events and venues that have implemented recycling programs have had remarkable success. Examples include:

• The Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar, Calif.: the fairgrounds recycled 90 percent of its discards in 1998.
• The Common Ground Country Fair in Unity, Maine: the fair recovered 86 percent of its discards in 1996.
• Pennsylvania State University football games: recyclers recovered 36 tons of material and achieved a recovery rate of more than 26 percent during the six games held at Beaver Stadium in 1999.
• Bay to Breakers footrace and Footstock, a post-race festival, San Francisco, Calif.: participants and attendees at the 1998 event recovered approximately 8.5 tons of material through recycling.
• St. Paul Classic Bike Tour, St. Paul, Minn.: the 5,000 riders at the 1998 race recovered 95 percent of their discards through recycling and composting.
• Rib Run marathon, Kansas City, Mo.: recyclers recovered so much that disposal averaged less than one ounce of trash per participant from 2,300 runners, 300 junior marathoners, 500 volunteers, and many spectators.

This model study has a twofold purpose. First, it provides information to help event organizers create a waste reduction program. Second, it details programs and policies to help city and county planners encourage recycling at special events in their jurisdictions. This model study presents examples and highlights from efforts all around the world, including Australia, Austria, Maine, and California. Individual case studies profile the recycling experiences at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and the Bay to Breakers footrace.

Program Characteristics

The task of organizing recycling programs at special events often falls on event organizers. The amount of planning and preparation to pull off a successful event can be daunting, and recycling sometimes falls through the cracks. Yet, the extra effort to provide recycling at special events can reap cost savings and positive publicity for the organizers.

The main elements of a typical effort to recycle at special events are:

• Determining who will coordinate and implement the recycling efforts.
• Evaluating event waste stream composition.
• Assessing local markets for recyclable materials.
• Designing a collection, sorting, and transportation system for trash and recyclables.
• Gathering support of the numerous parties involved, including event organizers and management, venue management, vendors serving the event, and waste haulers (as appropriate).
• Educating and/or training recycling staff, vendors, attendees, and participants.

Who Will Be in Charge?

Special events recycling may be coordinated by any of the following:

• The event organizers.
• The venue managers.
• The waste hauler serving the event.
• A private firm that specializes in special events recycling implementation.
• Volunteers, or a local environmental organization. Each of these approaches has advantages and disadvantages.

Perhaps the easiest way for event organizers to provide recycling opportunities to event attendees is to choose an event venue that already has a recycling program in place. The venue staff will already be trained in proper recycling techniques and the event organizer will not need to purchase recycling equipment.

However, cost savings and revenues from recycling may be retained by the venue. An existing program may not accept materials that event organizers would like to recycle. Even when choosing to use a venue with its own recycling program in place, review the venue’s recycling program to ensure that it diverts as much waste as possible from disposal. Venue management committed to recycling may welcome suggestions for improving their programs and may share disposal cost savings in return for a good idea.

• Example: the Del Mar Fairgrounds hosts an average of seven or eight events on-site each week. Organizers renting the space and their vendors are required by contract to sort recyclables, which are then collected by venue staff using the venue’s equipment. Other options are hiring a waste hauler that can provide recycling services at the event or hiring a company specifically to implement the recycling effort. The advantages and disadvantages of hiring a contractor to provide recycling services are similar to those of choosing to use a venue with an existing program.

Furthermore, fees paid to contractors may increase event waste management costs. As with choosing a venue with an existing recycling program, event organizers can work with contracted service providers to ensure that their efforts will divert as much material as possible from disposal.

• Example: In Australia, Visy Special Events provides full-service recycling services to stadiums, exhibition centers, and cultural events. The company’s services include waste characterization; serving as a liaison with vendors; collection, sorting, marketing, and transportation of recyclables; and assistance with education and public relations. As recycling at special events becomes more common in the U.S., specialized companies may offer similar services.

Many special events are organized by volunteer organizations or use volunteer staff during the events. Volunteer organizations hosting events could designate a committee to organize and implement their recycling program.

If event planners do not have sufficient members or expertise to implement their own program, they can consider partnering with another organization to implement recycling. Local environmental or public service organizations may be able to coordinate the recycling efforts.

Often community solid waste agencies have organized corps of volunteers that may be able to do the job. Enlisting volunteers can provide event organizers with valuable expertise and staff while keeping recycling costs low.

• Example: Kansas City Cares, a nonprofit organization, organizes volunteers to implement the recycling program at the annual Kansas City Blues and Jazz Festival.

What Will Be Collected?

The design of a recycling system for a particular event or venue must be based on an understanding of waste stream composition and available markets for materials to be recovered.

Research by the University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Energy and Environmental Education found the waste stream from two large 1997 festivals consisted of nearly 70 percent food, paper, and plastics, by weight. The remainder of the waste stream consisted of waxed cups, cardboard, wood, glass, aluminum, and other miscellaneous materials.

More than half of the plastics in this sample consisted of #6 plastic or polystyrene. This waste composition may be typical of events with many food vendors. (Of course, special circumstances and regional variations may result in a different waste composition at a particular event.)

Event organizers can influence waste stream composition by working with vendors and controlling what attendees may bring into the festival.

By requiring vendors to use recyclable products instead of non-recyclable equivalents, event organizers can increase the proportion of the waste stream that can be recycled. Product substitutions to consider include: (1) serving all beverages in cans or bottles, and (2) choosing cups, bowls, and utensils made of recyclable or biodegradable materials.

Biodegradable single-use food service products, such as bowls, cups, and plastic utensils, are becoming increasingly available. Currently these are more expensive than plastic and paper, but the price gap is closing.

Encourage waste reduction by asking event participants to bring their own reusable cups or mugs, asking vendors to hand out eating utensils and straws upon request only, and serving condiments (such as sugar, cream, and ketchup) in bulk rather than individual packages if local health department regulations allow.

• Example: Event organizers at both the Whole Earth Festival in Davis, Calif., and the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity, Maine, ask attendees to bring their own reusable items. These include bags, cups, bowls, napkins, and eating utensils.
• Example: Penn State University piloted a “Zero Waste Tailgate” program during its 1999 football season. The events catered by Penn State food services featured biodegradable cutlery, plates, cups, and trash bags. The university composted all of the waste generated at its two 1999 zero waste tailgates.

Collecting glass containers for recycling can present challenges. Glass is heavier than other beverage containers, and it can be difficult to transport through large crowds. Broken glass presents hazards to volunteers and attendees. In places where processors require glass to be sorted by color, recycling stations need additional containers. Event coordinators can prohibit attendees from bringing glass containers to the festival site and not allow vendors to sell beverages in glass containers.

Once event organizers have an idea what’s in the waste stream of the event, they must decide what portions of the waste stream to collect for recovery. Focus first on the materials most prevalent in the waste stream. All decisions must be made with an eye toward local markets.

Markets for recyclable materials are often volatile and materials that are technically recyclable in some regions may not be in others. The sale of some commodities may generate income; others may be revenue neutral, and still others may require a tip fee. Tip fees for recyclables are often wholly offset by resulting reductions in trash disposal costs.

Food service is common at most types of special events; therefore, food recovery is crucial to maximizing recycling at special events. Options for food recovery include donation, use as animal feed, rendering, and composting. Donation of food is appropriate for non-perishable and unspoiled perishable food. Food preparation scraps and inedible food must be handled in another manner. Donation recipients could include food banks, soup kitchens, and shelters.

Chart 1: Waste Composition by Weight at Two 1997 Iowa Festivals

Farmers have long relied on food discards to feed their livestock, and new companies are introducing technology to convert food discards into dry animal feed. In general, foods high in salt and coffee grounds are not suitable for use as animal feed.

The rendering industry uses liquid fats and solid meat products as raw materials in the production of animal feed, cosmetics, soap, and other products. Many rendering companies provide storage barrels and pickup services.

Composting is the transformation of organic material into a soil-like material. Many composting operations can handle paper plates, cups, and napkins in addition to food discards.

There are four principal composting methods. Unaerated static pile composting is best suited for small operations handling only paper, fruit, and vegetable discards. Aerated windrow composting can accommodate paper and large quantities of food discards, including animal products, if carefully tended.

In-vessel composters can accept paper products, fruits, vegetables, and animal products. Vermicomposting uses worms to break down materials into a nutrient-rich soil amendment. Animal products are not suitable for vermicomposting systems.

Recycling teams will need to identify food recycling options available in their area in order to determine which materials to collect and how to sort them. (Many local governments maintain directories of local food recycling companies and organizations.) Recyclers may be able to increase recovery by using more than one food recovery technique.

• Example: Event organizers at the 1999 Rib Run, a marathon held each year in Kansas City, Mo., composted 400 pounds of food scraps and donated all edible leftover foods to local food kitchens.
• Example: Del Mar Fairgrounds sends some food discards to an off-site composter, vermicomposts some of it on-site, and works with a rendering company that collects used cooking oil.

Other items typically targeted for recycling at special events include paper, bottles, cans, and cardboard. These items can often be recycled in existing community recycling programs. Check with the local government or recycling contractors to determine whether event recyclables can be recovered with other community recyclables. If so, the existing system will determine collection and sorting requirements.

At some events, such as agricultural fairs and horse shows, a large portion of the waste stream may consist of animal bedding and waste. These materials are generally nutrient-rich and can be composted. Bedding materials from dog and cat shows can generally be composted also, but the animal waste may not.

Designing Collection and Sorting Systems

Design recycling sorting systems with an eye toward convenience. In general, clearly mark recycling stations and locate them near where materials are generated. Furthermore, keep the recycling areas neat and attractive.

Vendors often generate substantial amounts of preconsumer scraps, unsaleable food, and cooking oils. It may be easiest to ask vendors to set these materials aside and collect them outside event hours.

Alternatively, vendors could bring the materials to one or more centrally located collection points. Locate collection points as close to the vendors as possible yet away from high traffic areas where odors and vectors could be a nuisance. To reduce these problems, collection containers need to be covered and emptied and cleaned regularly. Some food scrap recyclers will deliver clean containers when they collect filled containers.

Vendors also produce most of the cardboard discarded at special events. Generally, cardboard collection points do not need to be located at public recycling stations. Locate them behind the scenes, near dumpsters. If event organizers have sufficient staff, assign people to circulate around vendor areas to collect cardboard as it is generated. The added convenience may encourage vendors who were not otherwise inclined to recycle.

Locate public recycling areas near vendors, bathrooms, and at event entrances and exits. Ideally, trash receptacles should not be placed alone. If space constraints or equipment shortages prohibit locating a recycling station at every existing trash receptacle, consider covering or removing those receptacles.

Possible sorting categories include: deposit containers, other recyclable containers, food and food-contaminated paper, clean recyclable paper, and trash. In general, the less sorting the patrons must do, the better. Event organizers in bottle bill states need to weigh the disadvantage of increased sorting against the potential of increased revenues from container redemption.

• Example: The Iowa Festival Recycling Project worked with local Girl Scouts to collect deposit containers separate from other containers. The Girl Scouts provided collection barrels for deposit containers at each recycling station. These barrels were clearly marked and different in color from the other recycling containers.

The festival recycling project staff report that the deposit container barrel had the least contamination of all sorts at the recycling stations. Because the festival recycling project allowed the Scouts to retain the revenues from container redemption, the total amount raised is unknown. However, project staff reported that the barrels filled up multiple times each day and the scouts were very pleased with the amount of money they raised.

Design signs and recycling station configuration to encourage proper sorting of discards. Use signs to clearly indicate which materials belong in which containers. Event attendees will generally not take the time to read fine print, so display recycling instructions in large type accompanied by a graphic if possible. Container design can also encourage proper sorting of materials. For example, different-shaped slots in container lids may discourage individuals from depositing trash in recycling containers. Staff at recycling stations can help reduce contamination of recyclables and ensure recyclable items are not put in the trash. Materials collected at unstaffed recycling stations often need secondary sorting. While staffing recycling stations during the event may require more labor than sorting material after the event, most recycling crew members vastly prefer the former option.

Gather Support

Recycling at special events has no chance of success if event organizers do not support it. Organizers have many complex tasks to accomplish in order to stage a successful event. If they consider recycling to be an extra headache, the program will not get the necessary attention it needs.

Recycling supporters who receive lukewarm receptions from event planners may want to defer program implementation for a short time while investing in education efforts. Information about the benefits of recycling and offers of resources to aid implementation (brochures, technical assistance, contact lists) may generate commitment among reluctant event organizers.

Gaining vendor cooperation with recycling efforts is almost as important as management support. Vendor operations can be strongly influenced by recycling program requirements. Some sorting and collection systems will require additional labor by vendor staff.

Asking vendors to substitute recyclable goods in place of non-recyclable items may result in additional costs. Event organizers can stress the environmental benefits of recycling and potential cost savings from reduced disposal. Another selling point to gain vendor buy-in is that the public generally supports recycling. Organizers may involve vendors in the recycling program planning to ensure the implemented program is convenient and acceptable.

Organizers can assist vendors by providing staff training, educational brochures, and contacts for sources of recyclable and recycled-content products. Finally, venue managers can require that vendors use their sites to recycle through contracts and rental agreements.

Education and Training

It is impossible to overtrain recycling crews or provide too much education to event participants. Event organizers need to ensure vendors, recycling crews, and event attendees have enough information to properly recycle.

Continuously provide vendors with recycling program information. Start by informing vendors of recycling program details well in advance of events. Use event registration and contracts as opportunities to distribute recycling information to vendors. Remind vendors again about program details shortly before the start of the event.

Organizers may distribute recycling information to vendors as they arrive at the venue or circulate among booths before the event begins. Continue to interact with vendors about recycling throughout the event.

• Example: Many beer-vending booths at the Kansas City Blues and Jazz Festival are staffed by volunteer groups who share in the sales revenue. Ongoing education of vendor staff is critical to ensure high participation in recycling efforts. This is accomplished through signs and site visits by recycling program staff during shift changes.

Temporary or volunteer recycling crews also need recycling training well in advance of the event. In addition to information on how to recycle, they need to know why the recycling program is being offered. Recycling staff will have contact with the public and should expect to be asked about the need for and purpose of the program. In a sense, recycling staff will also be event recycling ambassadors.

On-site training immediately prior to the event allows recycling crews to become familiar with the recycling stations and the venue layout. This is also the appropriate time to offer detailed information on sorting materials.

Finally, recycling at special events cannot succeed without the participation of attendees. Use every opportunity to publicize recycling efforts. Display the recycling logo (and more information if space allows) in advertising prior to the event, including newspaper and television ads and outdoor signs.

For events where participants preregister, such as road races and animal shows, include recycling information in registration packets. During the event, make recycling as easy as trash disposal. Recycling stations should be located near to where patrons generate waste. They should be clearly marked and easy to use.

• Example: Volunteers at the Rib Run in Kansas City, Mo., distribute recycling program information to runners at the registration tables.

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Last updated: November 01, 2007