Events

Vermont state law requires the separation of trash, recyclables, and organics at all events whether it is a family reunion in the park or a music festival with 10,000 attendees. The Alliance provides free technical assistance in planning the solid waste management of your next event to assure its success and within compliance of Vermont's Recycling Law (Act 148). We also provide sets of bin signs for your collection containers.

The following information on this page is also available as a downloadable pdf.

Downloadable Event Waste Management Guide

Questions? Contact Paula Kamperman, our Outreach Program Manager, using the icons below to schedule a planning consultation or for answers to your solid waste management questions.

Laying the Groundwork:

Event organizers know careful planning is the key to a successful event. This guide provides important information and tips to help you successfully manage your solid waste disposal while complying with Vermont’s recycling law. The key is setting expectations and guidelines early with your vendors to help them successfully meet them and make your team's job easier.

Effective July 1, 2020, Vermont banned all food scraps from the landfill and prohibited stores and food service establishments (including event vendors) from providing the following single-use items: carryout plastic bags, stirrers, expandable polystyrene (Styrofoam), and plastic straws (plastic straws can only be provided upon request). These changes to the law have a significant impact on vendors and require event organizers to communicate these changes to vendors so they are in compliance, and you are too! Since so much of the weight of trash from these events is from food, diverting it properly will likely save you money as well because your hauler is composting it, not landfilling it.

Note to event organizers:

These Food Vendor Recommendations (below) can be cut and pasted onto your organizational letterhead and modified to best reflect your event specifics. To get better cooperation from vendors, help them understand the changes in your guidelines when they reflect changes in the law.

The Food Vendor Recommendations and sample Food Vendor Letter handouts should be sent to all food vendors along with vendor contract information or initial contact information.

The Food Vendor Recommendations handout can also be included in supplement vendor communications. Copies of the handout should be distributed to vendors during the event when there are questions about acceptable items or if they need a reminder about the request to use only compostable or recyclable foodservice packaging.

Some compost operations will only accept food scraps for composting, especially if this is the first time food scrap diversion is being undertaken at the event or if no monitoring at sorting stations is in place during the event. Once all vendors have made the switch to certified compostable paper foodservice or recyclable items, contamination from non-compostable items will be reduced. This will enable Recycling and Compost Station monitors to more easily identify materials that should not be composted.

Your organization’s Food Vendor Recommendations and Vendor Letter should clearly state “what’s acceptable” for composting.

We’re including some images of successful sorting stations and a sample survey you can use with vendors to help manage your waste stream.

Examples of Recycling and Food Scrap Collection Stations at Events

people at a food scrap collection station

EXAMPLE: Food Vendor Recommendations

EXAMPLE: Survey of Food Vendors

Recycling and Food Scrap Diversion Tips for Event Organizers

General Guidance

Your hauler is an important partner in recycling and food scrap diversion. Ask them:

What recyclables and food scraps/compostable products (e.g., napkins, paper plates) can be collected?
How will materials be collected from the site?
Can they provide collection carts and signage? What type?
How collected materials should be stored onsite?
Will they provide dumpsters or a collection vehicle, or will materials be collected from a central location at the end of the event?

Volunteers are essential for a successful recycling and food scrap diversion/composting program.

Assign one or more people as a “Recycling and Composting Captain(s).” A team of two works best if there are enough volunteers or staff.
Captain responsibilities will include:
- Overseeing volunteer activities related to recycling and composting.
- Assisting with emptying collection bins, allowing station monitors to take breaks, and filling in for late or “no show” volunteers.
- Interfacing with the hauler and food vendors.
Each Recycling and Food Scrap Composting Collection Station needs to be monitored throughout the day. Be sure there are enough volunteers and staff to handle this.
- Ideally each Collection Station will have an assigned monitor. If there are not enough volunteers to do this, then limit food scrap collection to just the Stations that are assigned a monitor.
Volunteers or staff at the Collection Stations must feel comfortable interfacing with the public and providing instructions to people when they come up to the Collection Stations. Not all event participants will be familiar with food scrap composting or recycling, so volunteers need to be proactive about monitoring the collection bins and telling participants “what goes where.”
Assign a team of volunteers responsible for emptying full bins or swapping out full carts, and moving collected materials to the designated storage location.
Provide volunteers with a map of the Collection Station locations and the storage location for collected materials.
Schedule a place to meet all volunteers at their appointed shift.

Training

Brief all volunteers and staff about the event’s recycling and food scrap collection program:
- Clarify which materials are acceptable for recycling and food scrap composting.
- Provide a brief description of composting (or diversion to livestock) and where the food scraps will be composted. It is important that volunteers have basic information in order to convey this to interested participants.
- Review the logistics for the event, including check-in location and time, locations of Collection Stations, and their assigned station.

Provide volunteers or staff with good quality gloves and a hand washing area or wipes.
Practice safety. Reinforce safety rules with volunteers.
- Gloves should be worn at all times when handling food scraps.
- Never use hands or feet to press down on collected materials.
- Carefully remove trash from collection containers with a litter pick-up stick or gloved hand.
- Lift using legs, not back, and do not lift more weight than is easy.
Wasps may be attracted to the recycling and composting containers. Be sure to ask volunteers and staff if they are allergic to bee or wasp stings. Individuals with wasp or bee allergies should not participate in the collection.
- Always check for stinging insects before putting hands inside a collection container to remove contaminants (use a litter pick-up stick when possible) or picking up a full bag or container.

Vendors

Promoting Event Recycling and Food Scrap Diversion

Station Signage and Container Labels

Large “Recycling, Food Scraps, & Waste” signs at each station
- Ensure all bins are marked with signage on all visible sides.
Signs should clearly and simply state what is acceptable in each bin—“Recycling”, “Composting” or “Food Scraps for Livestock”.
Place signs behind the Stations at eye level so that they can be seen from a distance.
Examples placed on the signs and on the carts are helpful.
- For example, a banana peel, napkin, and paper plate, on the food scraps signs and carts; aluminum can and plastic soda bottle on recycling signs and carts.