Veterans help Taste of St. Louis go green.

This year, to help one of the largest events in the region implement a more sustainable waste management strategy, St. Louis Earth Day got together with the St. Patrick Center’s Veterans GO! Green program.

Graduates of the program staffed the recycling stations throughout the grounds of this year’s Taste of St. Louis, helping each attendee learn more about where their waste was headed and why. Recycling On the GO staff greatly enjoyed working with the 9 veterans from the program, who have all served in different branches of the armed forces.

At the event, 23 cubic yards of organic material and compostable service ware items were sent to St. Louis Composting, and 111 cubic yards of commingled recycling was diverted from the landfill! In addition to the partnership with the St. Patrick Center, this was the result of a collaboration between Entertainment St. Louis (the organizers of Taste), Regency (event-clean up service company), Replenishing the Earth, and St. Louis Composting.

In the Veterans GO! Green program, St. Patrick Center’s clients progress through a one-week training in which they explore employment opportunities and learn skills to help them succeed in careers within the material recycling and reuse industry.

This collaboration between event planners and social and environmental organizations demonstrates what can be achieved when we all work together for the common good.