Zero Waste Event Toolkit

Starting Your Own Event

Do you want to host a Zero Waste Event on campus? LiveGreen is here to make your event successful. A Zero Waste Event has at least 90% of all of the material at that event being reused, recycled or composted. A maximum of 10% can go to the landfill.

Remember to reduce, reuse, and recycle, in that order.

Best Option: Reduce.

• Use reusable plates, serving dishes, beverage carafes, utensils, cups, table settings and cloth napkins.

Good Option: Compost.

• If reusables are not an option, use compostable (not biodegradable) plates, serving dishes, utensils, cups, table settings and napkins.

Acceptable Option: Recycle.

• Buy items that are easily recyclable in your area - generally glass, metal, and #1 and #2 plastics. Avoid plastics if at all possible.

Worst Option: Landfill.

• Avoid purchasing items like Styrofoam and other-numbered plastics that don't fit into the categories above.

Planning

• The key to success is good planning. Consider everything that will be brought to your event so you can plan for disposal. This is where the "reduce" part of the equation is so important. The less you bring in, the less that has to go out. Don't provide printed agendas or notes unless you absolutely have to. Instead of buying bottled water, get a carafe. Tell people what they are responsible for - their own cup or bottle, a laptop, notebook and other items.
• Don't forget to consider the packaging; if you order a case of bottled water, it will likely come in a cardboard frame and plastic wrapping, both of which have to be dealt with - not just the bottle.
• Hard plastic can be recycled, but the production is hazardous and recycling is fairly inefficient. Consider other options. Compostable cups are better than recyclable.
• Make sure everyone is involved in planning the event is on board and knows the plan so they can look for easily missed items. Those individuals attending the event should know all of the details so they can help attendees when questions come up.
• Depending on the event, you will need a mixed recycling bin, a container for compost and probably a trash can.
• You can also use a Hefty ReNew Program orange bag to collect soft plastics and other hard to recycle plastic items such as plastic utensils straws, chip bags and foam packaging and many other items (check the list of acceptable items). After the event the orange bag(s) can be placed in the mixed recycling bins on campus and will eventually end up at the Firstar Fiber's material recovery facility where it will be palletized and made into plastic lumber and decking material.
• If you are serving food, you will likely have some food waste. Compost bins can be delivered from Hillside Solutions or you can collect the material in a compostable bag and someone can drive it to a collection site in town for a one-time fee.

At the Event

• Group your bins; attendees should be able to go to one place and sort all of their waste. If trash cans already exist in the space, add recycling and compost bins to each one or temporarily remove the trash can to avoid confusion. The more people you have attending and the more ways to get in and out of a space means you will need more waste stations. Make it easy for them.
• If you have others helping facilitate your event, make sure they know the plan so they can be helpful to your attendees.
• Make an announcement at the beginning of the day or as food is being served. If you are using a PowerPoint or some other visual, create a slide that shows what items go into what bins. You can have this on the screen while people come in, and again at the end of the presentation. Provide motivation; not only does this help to achieve the campus Zero Waste goal, it's improving air quality in Omaha which reduces asthma attacks, ER visits and also helps to achieve our mission of creating a health future for all. If your group has a specific purpose, tie the outcome to that purpose for additional motivation. 
• Have signage for them to explain what items go where.

After the Event

• Gather up the materials from all of your stations and group like items. If you do have some trash, you need to weigh it to know if you are zero-waste. If Hillside Solutions is picking up your composting, they can weigh everything for you but will need to know that in advance.
• If you have bins that are contaminated, recyclables mixed with food waste, or landfill items in the recycling bin, you will either need to sort it by hand to clean up the stream or send it to the landfill.
• Contamination means the compost or recycling facility will have to send it to the landfill and you will not have a zero-waste event. Don't be a wish-cycler.
• You don't want to be in this situation, so make sure to focus on planning and communication so you don't have to worry about it.
• Provide feedback; tell the attendees how they did and how this helped. If your items did get weighed, share that too - it's always surprising how much waste can come from a single event.

Additional Help

Start small. Can you make your office meeting or lunch and learn zero waste?

Purchasing is key - make sure you know what kind of containers your caterer is bringing and work to get the best options. Try to reduce odd items or items that you don't know how to dispose of. To be truly zero-waste, any waste that went into prepping for your event counts too. Ask your caterer if they are composting and recycling at their facility.

You can do this at home too - throw a zero-waste football party, birthday party or holiday. It is good practice, and you will save yourself money.

Still have questions, email the LiveGreen Team.