By Lexie Vining, Outreach and Education Fellow
At CET, we are proud of the work we do to help people and businesses reduce their waste. When planning our recent 2nd Annual EcoBuilding BBQ, we made sure that it was a zero waste event from start to finish! The theme was to connect with community members to celebrate spring, going green and re-use. We had a variety of ongoing events such as vermicomposting, crafts and upcycling demonstrations. It was all conveniently located at EcoBuilding Bargains, which is the largest used building materials store in New England. Listed below are the steps we took to create a zero waste event! If you are interested in reducing waste at your events, please consider the suggestions below!
Planning
- Email invites versus paper invites
- Email and social media advertising and promotion versus paper flyers
Materials
- Reusable tablecloths such as cotton or nylon
- Reusable or recyclable signage
Food
- Compostable plates and utensils
- Recyclable cups and cans
Crafts
- Reused tiles
- Reused bricks
- Reused magazines
- Environmentally friendly paint
Waste
- Provide large compost and recycling bins
- Have a “trash monitor” to help people choose the correct disposal option
