You don’t need to wait for Government regulation to move towards economic and environmental good sense. Here are just some of the practical alternatives you can discuss with your team and implement today. Please bear in mind: this campaign is about asking our government to mandate scaleable, accessible, and reusable alternatives. Solutions already exist, but with event sector/hospitality sector/government cooperation and co-creation, more WILL come. The pressure is not on you, but you CAN apply the pressure.
Some General Hints For Starters
There’s no doubt: reuse is the future. However, while small events might be able to quickly set up new systems, no one is fooled in thinking that you can make your multi-day and/or tens of thousands strong event single-use free overnight. But it can be done over time, and here are a few ideas to get you on the way:
Make a Plan
Even events with highly successful zero waste programmes have had to build up to where they are now, sometimes over several years. So, work out where you’re at, where you’d like to be, and work out some steps to get there. It’s important to track your progress along the way, so factor in things like waste audits, budgets, expenditure and cost savings, and also how you’ll publicise your plans and progress (see below). It might be that you decide to create a three- or even five-year plan – whatever the case, it’s good to start somewhere! To work all this out, you may need some help, so…
Talk to the Experts
There are plenty of companies and organisations that provide waste management services for events these days, throughout the country. However, if you’re keen to reduce your event’s waste to the absolute minimum, be sure to work with those who know how to do it – not just a company that’ll take the waste off your hands. Look out for organisations that have a bold vision and a proven record of high diversion rates who can provide comprehensive plans to reduce the amount of single-use serviceware used in the first place. Whoever you talk to, make sure you get in touch very early in the planning stages, and don’t expect that they can just provide miracle solutions that make your event’s waste magically disappear – they might suggest actions that will shake things up a bit!
Get in touch with liam@takeawaythrowaways.nz if you’d like to know who to talk to in your area.
SHOUT ABOUT REUSE
Let everyone know that your event is striving to be zero waste, and that single-use items are on the out and reuse is in. Plaster the message all over your promos, website, social media, emails, and tickets etc. Create physical signs for the event itself to be on the entry gates, at vendors/stalls, and by waste sorting stations etc. Be clear about what you’re putting in place instead – whether that be surcharges for using disposables, discounts for BYO, or reuse schemes (see alternatives below).
Announce a phase out
Keen on putting a timeframe on becoming single-use free? Then it’s important to let vendors and event-goers know about it. They’ll need warning to prepare (and so will you!), so everyone has time to ask questions and get comfortable with how the changes are going to look. You want to assure people you work with that it won’t affect them financially, and that the alternatives can be just as convenient – if not more so – than the current disposable options.
Pick off the easy wins
You don’t have to do everything all at once. Start with some of the easier changes your vendors can make:
stop selling bottled water (you’ll need to set up water refill stations and possibly have reusable water bottles available for purchase – see RefillNZ for ideas/support)
remove single use sachets, pottles, and soy fish etc (instead, have jars of sugar and reusable/refillable sauce bottles available at vendors)
go topless with coffee cups (no lids, and have reusable silicone lids for sale/hire for those who really need them)
make straws and napkins on request only (don’t automatically put straws in a drink, but have some available for those who need them to drink safely)
Can you think of the easy changes your event could make?
Artists/performers/speakers
Use your voice! You not only have an influence but a responsibility to ensure your venue accommodates you and your values – the event will, after all, reflect on you. Take a cue from artists like Jack Johnson, whose tour crew work with venues on a raft of environmentally friendly initiatives, including replacing single-use cups and bottles for reusables.
BYO Serviceware
Want your festival/event to have a culture where event-goers know (and are happy) to bring their own cups, containers, and cutlery? There are a bunch of ways that you can incentivise this behaviour and make it the norm:
Surcharges on single-use disposables
Put the price up if people want to use throwaway items. An extra 20c, 50c, $1, or $2 will signal to people that it costs vendors – and the earth – to give out these items. Ideally, this should only be an intermediary step; ultimately, we want to phase out single-use items entirely.
Discounts at food/drink vendors
Offer a fixed amount (20c, 50c, $1, $2) or a percentage (5-10%) off drinks/food for those who bring their own reusables. This is a nicer, positive alternative to charging extra for disposable takeaway packaging. Plus, it runs on the presumption that you don’t even need to offer disposables at all! For event organisers, make it an event-wide policy so all vendors are on an equal playing field. Discounts could even be budgeted by the festival and incorporated into vendor contracts.
Stock reusables for purchase
Make sure that your event hosts a stall selling reusable alternatives, should people wish to buy them. Be sure to stock reusable coffee cups, water bottles, straws, containers, cutlery, and even napkins. Some options can carry your logo.
DIY reusables
Cup library
Stock up on secondhand mugs and cups and allow customers to borrow and return (unless they want to keep it). The cups can be sold cheap (50c, $1) or even be given away. They can hang off hooks from a wall, or a purpose-built stand. This is a great way to provide an option for those who want a takeaway, but have forgotten their own cup, or when takeaway is the only option. This option goes well with a wash station (see below)!
Koha Jar
A genius way of upcycling used glass jars (plenty of those lying around!) as takeaway coffee cups. It’s an opportunity for communities to get creative in making them look beautiful, while being functional too.
read, learn and then consider what might work for you
These documents give insight into case studies, terminology and benefits of reuse systems that are happening, or under review, internationally:
Examples Of Existing Reuse Schemes
Do you have a major festival or large stadium that needs a proven scheme to cater for your 1000s of event-goers? Check out these providers:
Washing and Sterilisation Services
There are a number of ways to get washing and sterilisation processes into your event or festival - from DIY set-ups to an increasing number of third party services that you can hire. Here are a few:
DIY Wash Stations – get yourself some buckets, hot water, detergent, dish brushes, drying racks, and a big set of crockery, and you’ll be away. No fancy equipment or branding needed, and anyone can set one up for local events, like Rosanna here! Another cool example - Victoria University student group Plastic Diet’s Waste Watchers initiative.
Wash Against Waste for hire - if you are running an event in Auckland or Wellington, there’s an option to hire a whole wash station set up (including crockery and cutlery etc. as well as buckets, dish brushes, and tea towels etc.) that is so cheap, it’s practically free! For Auckland, see Eco Matters’ Wash Against Waste hire. For Wellington, check out Newtown Community & Cultural Centre’s Wash Against Waste kit.
Waste Management Organisations with wash stations - Waste No More Nelson Whakatū have a mobile sterilisation unit with crockery and cutlery available for events and festivals; Our Daily Waste in Christchurch/Canterbury have a cup wash station set up and ceramic cups to use.
want to know more about how to set up safe and hygienic reuse systems? check out these Global Best Practice Guidelines produced by the Sustainable Event Alliance:
What about plastic straws?
We have excluded plastic straws from our list of items proposed for a ban. Some disabled people require plastic straws to drink, making a ban or restrictions on availability discriminatory. No reusable straw currently offers the same accessibility characteristics as a plastic straw. Furthermore, cleaning a straw after use is not always accessible either. These issues are discussed in more detail here, here, and here.
Recognising this reality, the Takeaway Throwaways campaign favours a non-regulatory approach to straws that encourages people who do not need a plastic straw to drink, to refuse the straw or use a reusable straw instead. Takeaway Throwaways is not just about bans and government regulation. We’re also aiming to normalise a healthy reuse culture where all parts of society are active in creating a non-disposable future. Bans and regulations help to speed up this process, but where such measures are inappropriate, we can also draw on personal responsibility and common sense.
Resources
For musicians, managers, and agents – check out this sustainable touring guide from UK-based organisation, Julie’s Bicycle. There’s also this EnviroRider and this EnviroTour Guide for more info on greening your gigs.
For vendors - The Takeaway Throwaways alternatives for hospo page is a good start. Check out uyo.co.nz for inspiration, guides, signs, and more.
For event/festival organisers – check out this event waste management guide from UK-based organisation, Julie’s Bicycle. And this is a How To Green Your Event Guide, from California State Uni, things to consider from go to whoah https://www.csun.edu/sites/default/files/Green_Events_Guide-2014-03-07_r9.pdf
Check out BYOBottle’s Reusable Vendor List for an overview water refill station providers, reusable water bottles, and reuse schemes.
For everyone – sign on to campaigns like BYOBottle (and definitely check out their amazing resource page!), and keep an eye out for initiatives like #RockNRefill that could be taken up in Aotearoa New Zealand. The global organisation Plastic Pollution Coalition has a few resources here too.
Read more about international examples of similar bans/regulations for events, such as Flanders’ (Belgium) ban on single-use cups at events. More detailed info on this particular initiative (in Dutch) can be found here, and a summary of various regulatory measures for events in parts of Europe are listed on page 60 of this research report by Eunomia, Leverage Points for Reducing Single-Use Plastics.