Was

te Reduction Report

da V

inci D

ays 2011

Methods, Results & Future

Goa

ls

Com

pil

ed by Andrea Norris

OSU Campus Recyclin

g

Summary• da Vinci Days,Oregon’spremierartsandscience

festival,tookplaceJuly15-17,2011onthelowercampuslawnatOregon State University.Thisyear’sthemewas“Connectivity.”

• Whilerecyclinghadbeencollectedinpastyears,lastyear-2010-wasthefirstyeartobeginmoving the festival toward a zero waste event.

• Thisreportdescribesmethodologyused(toserveasaguideforothereventorganizers)andresults(todemonstrateouraccomplishments)for2011.

• Foradditionalinfo,you’reencouraged to contact ususingtheinfoonthefinalpageofthisreport.The2010 reportisalsoavailableonline.

Methodology

Food Service Products• Startingin2010,allfoodvendorswererequiredto

serveonlycompostable or recyclable materials.Thiskepttheneedforsortinglowandsignificantlyreducedtrash.

• VolunteervendorcompostcoordinatorMikeMurzynskymet with food vendorsduringpre-festivalsetuptoensureallservingwarewascompostable.

Examples of compostable and recyclable products that were used at the festival.

Processing Materials• Festivaltrash,compostandmostrecyclingwas

pickedupandprocessedbyAllied Waste Services of Corvallis.

• CompostwasprocessedatthePacific Region Compost Facility,located11milesoutoftown,whereitiscombinedwithyarddebrisandcompletelybreaksdownwithin120days.

• Specialplasticsnotacceptedinthecomminglestream(film,rigidandfoam)weredeliveredtotheFirst Alternative Co-op Recycling Center.

Recycling Staffing• Volunteerswererecruitedtothe“Green Team,”to

staff recycling stations andhelpsort vendor waste.

• LocalBoy Scout Troop #163monitoredbins,emptyingthemandsortingmaterialasneeded,withhelpfromPeteLepreofOSU Campus Recycling.

• Volunteerswerescheduled,trained,andcoordinatedbyAndrea Norris,alsoofOSUCampusRecycling.

Waste Station Layout• Waste stationswerelocatedthroughoutthefestival:

• 11stationswerestaffedbyvolunteersduringmostoftheevent(allbutoneclosedatdusk).

• Restroom and exteriorstationswereunstaffed.• Vendorswereprovidedwiththeirowntrash

andrecyclingreceptacles,asdescribedlater.

• Eachstationhad3bins:trash,recyclingandcompost.Abagforspecialplasticswasprovidedtoo.

da Vinci Days 2011 Recycling Map

10

4

3

2

15

67

8

9

[shade umbrella]

[showcase station]

vend

or

was

te

restrooms

recycling staging - dumpsters, change-outs, supply storage

VolunteerCheck-In

[OSU kiosk -1221 SW Jefferson]

1 = staffed station

= unstaffed

Legend

11

Festival Recycling Map

Green Star Pilot Program

• Newin2011wastheGreen Star Pilot program,avoluntary program for food vendorsinterestedinhelpingthefestivalfurtherreducewaste.

• Participatingvendorswereidentified with a sign (above).

• Pilotparticipantsreceivedtheirown:• Buckettocollectcompostintheirpreparea• 90-gallonrollcartinwhichtodumpcompost• Smallsquare binforrecyclables

da Vinci Days 2011

Green Star Pilot Program Participant

The Green Star Pilot Program provides food vendors with composting bins to further reduce their waste during the festival.

Green Star Pilot Program

• GreenStarvolunteershelpedatpeakmealtimes,sorting(andrinsing,asneeded)vendor recyclables.Theyalsoreviewedvendor compostcartsandpicked out contamination.

• Aftercompletingthetaskslistedabove,volunteershadtimeremainingandchosetopulltrash from vendor and attendee dumpsterstosortitaswell.

Volunteer Involvement• Inallwehad79 volunteerswhoputin332 hoursto

staffourstationsandsortwaste.ThisdoesnotevenincludethecountlesshoursputinbytheScoutsandteamleaders.

• Weabsolutelycouldnothavedonethiswithoutvolunteers-thank you!

Averysmallsamplingofvolunteerswhohelpedoverthefestivalweekend.

Educational Signage• Togenerateinterestinfestivalrecyclingefforts,

threemonster characterswerecreatedin2010torepresentthethreewastestreams-compost,recycling,andtrash.Theyweregivennamesandbios,andpicturesofthemappearedoneverywastesign.Thiscreatedconsistencybetweenbins,andabranding toolforthefestivalwastereductioninitiative.

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Showcase Station• Onestationwasa“showcase station”locatedjust

insidethemainentrance.

• Thisstationhadadditionaldisplay materials-abanner,largecutoutsofthemonsters,andanA-framewithmonsterbios.

Educational Signage• Bannersandhigh signswerealsoaddedtoeach

stationthisyear,tomakethemmorevisible.

• Also,eachstationhadasample of finished composttoshowattendeestheendproductoftheeffort.

The Results

Waste Diversion• Wediverted(recycledandcomposted)1.8 tonsof

material,or29cubicyards(4.8 6-yard dumpsters),fromthelandfill!

• Wediverted32% more material per personthanlastyear(byvolume).

Trash Over Time• Lastyearwereducedpercapitatrashby43%over

2009.Thisyearwereduced trash by another 65%,over2010.Wefilledless than one 6-yard dumpster.

• Wehavereduced per capita trash by 80%sincestartingthisinitiative(2011versus2009).

-

0.00020

0.00040

0.00060

0.00080

0.00100

0.00120

0.00140

2008 2009 2010 2011

PerCapitaTrashoverTime

Waste Composition• Wediverted 87%offestivalwaste!

• Halfthematerialwascomposted,morethanathirdwasrecycledandonly13%wenttothelandfill.

Trash13%

Cardboard15%

Commingle14%

Co-op8%

Compost50%

2011WastebyVolume,BrokenOutbyRecyclable

Trash13%

Recycling37%

Compost50%

2011WastebyVolume

Waste Comparison• From2010 to 2011,theproportionsofwastechanged

intheseways:• Recyclingremainedaboutthesame• Compostincreasedfromathirdtohalf• Trashdecreasedfromathirdtoaneighth

Trash13%

Recycling37%

Compost50%

2011WastebyVolume

Trash34%

Recycling34%

Compost32%

2010WastebyVolume

Explanation• Recyclingremainedthesamebecausebeercups

werecompostedthisyearratherthanrecycled,whichcanceledoutgainsinvendorrecycling.

• Compostincreasedbecausebeercupswerecompostablethisyear,plusmuchofthematerialsortedoutofvendortrashwascomposted.

Trash13%

Recycling37%

Compost50%

2011WastebyVolume

Trash34%

Recycling34%

Compost32%

2010WastebyVolume

Special Plastics• Itwasworthwhile to sort out special plasticstotake

totheFirst Alternative Co-op Recycling Center.

• Thisincludedplasticfilm,rigidplastic,andfoam,andtotaled2.6cubicyards.

• Muchofthevendorrecyclingwasfilmplastic,andtwobagsofmaterialwerecollectedatthestaffedstationsthroughouttheweekend.

Each recycling station was given a bag in which to sort special plastics.

Trash Contents• Allvendortrashandmostattendee

trashwassorted prior to disposal.

• Trashfromattendees:• Garbagebags,foodbar

wrappers,decorations,vinylpackaging,papercoffeecups(broughtin),disposablegloves,diapers,chewinggum,admissionbracelets,etc.

• Trashfromvendors:• Plasticcontaminatedbyfood,

non-compostablepapercups,vinyltablecloths,vinylpackaging,etc.

Trash from festival stations.

“Trash” from a vendor, prior to sorting.

Ideas for the Future• Setupamoreofficial sorting areaforGreenStarPilot

volunteers,alongwithtoolssuchasasortingtable,canopy,chairs,heaviergloves,hosewithspraynozzleandwashbucket.

• Somevendorsstarteddistributing items that were not allowed.Determineabetterwaytopreventthis.

• Recruit volunteers for one post-festival shiftwhocanassistwithsortingtheremainingwastefrombothvendorsandfestivalstations.

A Campus Recycling dumpster audit from a different event (left) may provide a model for a better sorting area for Green Star Pilot volunteers.

For More Information:

Andrea NorrisGreenTeamVolunteerCoordinatorOregon State University Campus RecyclingAndrea.Norris@oregonstate.edu(541)737-5398

Brenda VanDevelderExecutiveDirectorda Vinci Days, Inc.davinci@davinci-days.org(541)757-6363