How to Throw a Trash-Free Party for 10 to 10,000 

By Deb Habib www.seedsofsolidarity.org. 

Excerpted from the book Making Love While Farming: Field Guide to a Life of Passion and Purpose by Ricky Baruch and Deb Habib (Levellers Press, 2019) 

 ​A major effort at economic and cultural revitalization in our community has been the North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival that we co-create with our neighbors. And of all of the sustainability elements of the festival, three bags of trash for 10,000 people is a compelling ratio that prompts many to ask how we do it. 

   ​For a small gathering, it is a bit easier to do. Some of the same principles apply: use as many compostable products as you can—and if a small party, washable (let everyone help!). Have an easy and fun way for guests to sort food waste and recyclables from trash, as well as a way to deal with it after the fact, like a home compost pile or farm or facility that accepts compostables. Consider a set of compostable utensils along with simple paper (or tree-free) tableware as a wonderful holiday gift for friends or family to then have on hand for gatherings. A larger supply could be a meaningful gift for such organizations (like food banks or religious institutions) that put on weekly or holiday community meals for those hungry. Unfortunately, these organizations often use ‘cheap’ polystyrene. With multiple products on the market, Biodegradable Products Institute (bpiworld.net) is a good and frequently updated source to verify whether certain brands are in fact compostable, and to learn more about the range of products and suppliers available. 

   When it comes to larger events such as festivals, it is important to bring the conversation and related values into your planning from the get-go, or well in advance of your event if you are making a transition to recycling and composting. Here are some tips!

Transition to Trash-Free: If your event does not yet even recycle, start with recycling, and then add on a composting program in the subsequent year. You can also start by having vendors go polystyrene-free, adding the requirement to use compostable utensils the following year. It is easier to have a trash-free festival as a core event value from the start, but if you are transitioning, consider doing it in stages. Keep vendors informed about the trash phase-out plan so they feel engaged. Humor always helps, too! 

Clearly and enthusiastically explain your policy in any initial application materials that are sent to food (and other) vendors. For example, this is excerpted from the North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival application for food vendors: 

Our Festival Trash Free Policy: Once again, we only produced 3 bags of trash last year, with 120 bags of compostable material transformed into garden soil! This would not be possible without the support of our amazing  our amazing food vendors. Thank you! Consider the no-trash policy very carefully before applying. No Styrofoam/polystyrene or plastic plates/cups or wrapped-up plastic stuff. Paper plates and cups, preferably white and uncoated, are great as they can be easily composted. Aluminum foil is okay as it can be recycled. Plan and order well in advance. The organizers are happy to run through your menu with you, and help you brainstorm products or serving ideas.

Enlist committed volunteers to oversee receptacles or stations, and to educate. No matter how informative your signs, human presence will increase effective sorting and reduce contamination. Provide them with gloves and a tool to retrieve things placed in the wrong receptacle. Reducing contamination is critical if your compost is going to a commercial farm or composting facility and you want to sustain this relationship. College environmental groups can be great to enlist as volunteers. Keep volunteer shifts reasonable, and honor your volunteers with a meal, T-shirt, entry pass, or special thank-you note. Some events have attendees put everything in one container, then volunteers sort everything off-site—but then much of the educational opportunity and sense of waste diversion ownership is lost, plus it is a little gross.

Pre-Arrange with a farm, municipality, or composting company to pick up and/or receive those bags of glorious compost. Do the math. It may cost you less to pay them for their service than pay for trash disposal. It is true that some costs—such as compostable bags—will be higher than plastic. It may be helpful to seek a small grant or business sponsorship to cover such costs. They will likely still need to do a little sorting for ‘trash’ contaminants, but hopefully not much!

Create fun, bold receptacles for compost and recyclables, or if you have the funds, order them from commercial suppliers or check with your local or state recycling or solid waste district, as some provide loaners to community events. Simple signage, and smaller holes that fit the types of items to be disposed of will help participants pause before dumping. Be aware of weight of the containers to ease set-up and emptying.

Make entry and field signs celebrating successes, such as how much attendees and vendors have helped save from landfills and how much compost for gardens has been made. 

Encourage healthy competition through trash-free games or prizes at the event.