British Columbia Event Waste Reduction Roundtable

BC Event Waste Reduction Roundtable

– EVENT –

Every year, BC’s fairs, festivals, races, and community celebrations feed and entertain hundreds of thousands of people. Then they quietly deal with a mountain of cups, plates, food scraps, bottles and whatever else got left behind.

The great teams who run these events already do a lot of waste management, often with volunteers, tight budgets, and a field that was a parking lot three days earlier.

The Roundtable brings those people together. It is our first step to create a peer network for the planners and operations leads behind BC’s larger public events, where they can share what works, what didn’t, and what they’d do differently next year.

***Who should attend***

Event directors, site and operations managers, vendor coordinators, volunteer leads who run waste stations, and sustainability or “green team” leads. Event-greening contractors and service providers who work across multiple events are welcome too.

***Event types***

Agricultural fairs and exhibitions, music and arts festivals, food festivals, cultural and heritage celebrations, Canada Day and community days, marathons and large sporting events, seasonal or night markets, and more!

***What we’ll do together***

• Swap practical approaches: vendor packaging rules, station design and signage, volunteer training, compost and recycling hauling, and deposit containers
• Learn about reusable cup and dishware systems
• Lessons learned from events that have been working to reduce their waste
• Learn where event materials go after the gates close, and what local services exist in each region
• Build relationships so organizers can call each other before next season, not just after

***We are just getting started***

This first gathering is where we’ll decide together what kind of forum or ongoing meetings will work best for everyone. We’ll hear short updates on what participants are already doing in this area. Coming just to listen is welcome too!

– COST –

$ Free for guests who are event directors, site and operations managers, vendor coordinators, volunteer leads who run waste stations, and sustainability or “green team” leads.
$10 for CWMA Members and Friends | Your registration helps us subsidize the above group at no cost. Thank you!

+GST.  CWMA’s operations are supported wholly by events like these, dedicated patronage from sponsors, and our membership. We are grateful for your attendance. Differential pricing is available for students and non-profits; please be in touch. | Am I a member?

– AGENDA –

Virtual Doors Open at 10:20 AM Pacific for visiting and a/v check

10:00 – 10:35 AM | Welcome!
10:35 – 10:45 AM | Vignette presentation to get the sharing flowing
10:45 – 11:25 AM | Facilitated Roundtable. Some will come to share, others to listen; both are warmly welcome.
11:25 – 11:30 AM | Final thoughts and what comes next.