ROG accomplishments at LouFest & Festival of Nations.
Some are surprised to find that St. Louis Earth Day is very busy in the late summer and fall… that’s right, almost six months from Earth Day in April. This is because of our flagship event-greening program, Recycling On the Go, and ‘event season’ here in St. Louis. From mid-August through late October, there are numerous festivals, celebrations and expos each weekend… and that means a lot of waste being produced by folks on the go.
One of the busiest weekends of this event season is the last Saturday and Sunday in August, as thousands of St. Louisians attend LouFest and Festival of Nations. (And, in addition to having staff on-site at these great events, our bins were also found at the Open Space Council for the St. Louis Region’s Operation Clean Stream and Camp Rainbow’s Walk-a-Thon).
LouFest
as reported by Jeanette R. Reynolds
When LouFest was established by Listen Live Entertainment in 2010, it was set-up to be as sustainable as, possible beginning to end. St. Louis Earth Day joined a production team that was personally dedicated to recycling and composting.
Thanks to requirements by organizers for vendors to use only compostable and recyclable food service ware and an amazing volunteer crew, LouFest is one of our most successful waste diversion events.
- Volunteer Sean at the Orange Stage Waste Station. Sean and his brother Matt volunteered Saturday and Sunday, and came up with the idea to place bricks in the sorting tubs to keep the bags in place and the containers from blowing away in the strong wind.
This year we were excited to showcase our brand-new Waste Station tents, fresh out of the box at the time of set-up. They served a very important purpose during the weekend storms, sheltering concert-goers. One group that took shelter began applauding for anyone who came by to recycle or compost — spicing up the rainy experience.
By the numbers:
Recycling weight: 3500 lbs
Compost weight: 1420 lbs
Oil weight: 190 lbs (26 gallons)
Overall: 4920 lbs
Based on our calculations, 78% of the event’s waste was diverted from area landfills! (We’re still waiting on the weight reports.)
Festival of Nations
as reported by Cassandra P. Hage
ROG volunteers at Festival of Nations.
ROG has been gradually increasing its support of recycling at Festival of Nations since 2009, when invited on by the Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation whose dedicated volunteers initiated the recycling efforts at this event several years prior. Every year, we ramp up the effort a bit more, resulting in more opportunities for recycling, waste diversion, and education. The Tzu Chi Foundation continues to be a strong source of volunteers for the effort, but this year many more volunteers supported the efforts, including volunteers from the National Charity League and high school students from Maplewood and Parkway School Districts.
At this years event, we are pleased to report steady diversion of recyclables with additions of oil collection and leftover food donations. We also piloted collecting food waste (compostables) at our educational booth and behind select food vendors.
By the numbers:
Recycling weight: 5250 lbs
Compost weight: 480 lbs
Edible food donation: 100 lbs
Oil weight: 657 lbs (90 gallons)
Overall: 5830 lbs
Based on our calculations, 41% of the event’s waste was diverted from area landfills! (We’re still waiting on the weight reports.)
The new signs for our recycling bins!
Highlights from Festival of Nations 2012:
- ROG piloted composting with select food vendors.
- Nearly all food vendors complied with styrofoam/#6 plastic ban.
- ROG piloted waste sorting station near one of the dining areas
- Educational booth provided recycling and compost information for many attendees.
- Spent oil was successfully collected and recycled (a big thanks to volunteer Maud Essen for purchasing collection barrels and coordinating this effort. Between the oil collected at Festival of Nations and LouFest, her biodiesel-fueled 2006 VW Golf TDI will be powered for nearly a year!).
- Leftover food was donated to Anointed Hands Ministries through Operation Food Search.
