Tips to use less plastic at events and organize waste-free events
For whom: Organization team, vendors, participants and guests
What
Reduction of plastic waste at events.
Eliminating single use, unnecessary plastic.
Aim
Reduce plastic usage, plastic waste and pollution.
Avoid unnecessary single-use plastic during events, ensure good waste separation and collection.
Start small, improve event by event. Longer term: become ‘zero-waste’ at Rotary events and inspire others to become zero-waste at festivals, markets, parties and other events in your local community.
Plan the event
- Does the event require a physical meeting or physical attendance? Can you enable an online meeting or enable online presentations and recording for those who do not attend.
- Set objectives and budget:
- Set plastic-free objectives for the event and ‘Keep it simple’ to ensure continuity of measures so you can repeat them to compare and improve each time.
- Be pragmatic and economic: use the ‘80/20 rule’ to reduce the ‘easy’ 80% of waste and pollution, do the other 20% next event, when it is feasible.
- Include additional budget for ‘Plastic-free events’.
- Contracts and permits:
- Check with the local water supply company whether the tap water is of drinking water quality. If so: drink tap water instead or install water refill points for visitors.
- When a venue is required, use plastic-free selection criteria and include the plastic-free objectives in the selection.
- Choose vendors that use sustainable and no single-use products to prevent styrofoam, plastic clam shells and toxic black plastic. When applicable contract (food) vendors and the venue not to use single-use cutlery or single-use plates or cups.
- When applicable: work with the venue and (food) vendors to eliminate single-use plastic or cardboard, use reusables and include objectives in the contract(s).
- Communicate:
- Ask the venue, vendors, and organizing volunteers/staff to be the example.
- Ask attendees to Bring Your Own (BYO) bags, bottle, cup or box/container.
- Refuse all single-use, unnecessary plastics. Do not use/sell plastic bottles.
- Clear communication in the announcement, invite and registration regarding objectives and plastic-free guiding principles to all involved: organizing team, venue, vendors, volunteers, participants, visitors, guests and presenters.
- Make volunteers responsible for specific ‘plastic-free’, waste management and communication tasks during the event.
- Waste management:
- Assess what waste could be produced, provide sufficient waste collection capacity at the location.
- Understand how to use the waste collection system at your event location. When no good collection system available, consider to take it home, and dispose it at the proper way.
- Involve local authorities and waste management company regarding practices and tips for zero-waste opportunities.
- Other tips:
- Use paper name badges possibly including personalized QR codes for scanning to avoid the use of business cards (ask for LinkedIn address at registration time).
- Use local products, local food.
- Use gifts without plastic for speakers or when honoring e.g. flowers with no plastic wrappings or stickers. Or use memorabilia with value and possibly meaningful (e.g. certificate to plant trees), so they not become waste. Contract with local Artists and Craftsmen for any memorabilia that could be shared in the event.
- Develop an educational tutorial that can be emailed in a link to all registered volunteers, participants and visitors giving them an easy to follow guideline of how your event will be plastic-free, the materials and flyers on your event will be provided electronically, how to use them. Instruct them on how all brochures will be in QR Codes, those QR codes can be easily set up on banners throughout the event or emailed to everyone after their registration.
- Have a look at the Green Events Handbook created by ESRAG and its members for including CO2 impact reduction.
- Invite participants and visitors to donate a gift for organizing the event plastic-free.
During the event
- Avoid single-use plastics, offer refillable bottles of water and glasses for speakers.
- Eliminate single use for food and drinks. Volunteers and attendees bring their own.
- Eliminate plastic table clothes. Choose reusable table clothes when needed.
- Eliminate plastic ware. Buy or bring reusable forks, knives, spoons, cups, plates. When not arranged at the meeting point: set out a collection bucket. A volunteer take them home to wash.
- Communication:
- Use of electronic documentation, limit unnecessary meeting materials or flyers.
- Clear communication and guidance to all organizing staff, vendors, participants and speakers. Clearly show and demonstrate the plastic-free and waste-free objectives.
- Ensure good and clear communication and signs to visitors and staff regarding waste collection, ensure waste bins are clearly visible for waste sorting.
- Appoint someone to solve any plastic-free or waste management problems.
- Waste management:
- Ensure waste bins are emptied in time.
- Ensure organic waste is collected separately from paper, plastic, metal, wood or rest waste.
- Conserve leftover food and consider donations to a local (food) organization to use or donate to poor families.
- Wrap organic waste in newspaper, when you cannot just use the organic waste bin or composting box.
- Add an awareness action at (non-Rotary) events and festivals, e.g. a booth with information and tips how to reduce plastic.
- Provide water refill points. When no tap water is available provide a large water container to fill reusable bottles. Provide paper cups for those who forget their bottle.
- Do it together with the venue, vendors and visitors, improve event by event, make it a challenge, give a reward, be the example and do not exaggerate, Rome was not built in one day.
After the event
- Calculate agreed measurements to continue to use next time. Make an estimate of how much plastic waste you have generated.
- Evaluate the event with the organizing team, volunteers, involved vendors and attended, and ask for ideas to improve nest time. Make notes of your experiences, what you will continue to do, where you can make another step or find an alternative.
- Create Stories: evaluate what went well, what can be done better next time, lessons learned, and publish and share them to attendees, vendors and publish your achievements on social media, promote the easy steps, and arrange a reward for your volunteers.
- Debriefing with vendors and venue, discuss changes to reduce plastic next time.
- Talk to your District Governor and other clubs in your area about creating a Plastic-free events in your district.
- Send tips, plastic-free alternatives or just your experience to endplasticsoup@gmail.com, jointly with the description of your actions including results and lessons learned.
Contact
Gert-Jan van Dommelen, gjvandommelen@gmail.com
Tami Mulcahy, info@esragplastics.org