Preventing Waste at Martha's Vineyard Events A collaboration of Island Grown Initiative, VCS, and Sail MV This MV Green Event Guide will aim to:
Waste Station Setup Set up Waste Station areas that are centralized with clearly marked bins: Compost (green container) Island Grown Initiative can compost these items: Fruits & vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, pasta, bread, dairy, meat & seafood, coffee, filters & tea bags, napkins & paper towels. At this moment, compostable, "green" service wear is not accepted by IGI’s composter. Recycling (blue container) Recyclables need to be kept clean (no food or liquids) The best practice is to pick in this order: cardboard, aluminum, glass bottles, and plastic (at last resort!) Trash (black container) Bound for the landfill Food Waste Full Waste Station: Festivals, Street Fairs, Large Group Events Register Waste Station rental with Sophie Mazza (email sophie@igimv.org), for more details see website Small Waste Kit: Events of Any Size Includes signage to affix to bins and a 5-gal bucket for food waste Pick up the "Waste Kit" 1-3 days before your event at IGI’s Farm Hub (directions). Then, your team drops off the food waste:
No Single-Use Plastic
Recommendations for Disposables Only if you must use them! There are no perfect disposables on the market, but here are some of our suggestions for how to make the best of an imperfect situation. For food (i.e. to-go packaging) YES: products that are PFAS free YES: products made from untreated/uncoated paper or untreated paper lined with PLA NO: #6 plastic, i.e. polystyrene including both foam and rigid forms NO: molded fiber products, i.e. wheat fiber, blends of plant fibers, silver grass (miscanthus), sugarcane byproduct (bagasse), molded recycled paper, and PLA-lined molded sugarcane For liquids YES: PLA (plant-based) plastic **THIS NEEDS TO GO INTO TRASH** YES: #1 or #2 plastics **THIS NEEDS TO BE RINSED AND PUT INTO RECYCLING** Some brands we recommend: EcoProducts Vanguard line (certified PFAS-free), Sabert, Primeware Green Team The "Green Team" are responsible for monitoring the waste stations, keeping the event litter free, and sorting waste for maximum resource recovery. For a successful event, you will want a Green Team staffed with one point person and several trained volunteers for each waste station. Track Your Waste Tracking the waste from your event will help develop a baseline so that your next event can approach true "Zero Waste" status -- something to be proud of! Some ideas of data you may collect:
About this Initiative This collaboration among Island Grown Initiative, Vineyard Conservation Society, and Sail MV aims to educate event planners and caterers on Martha's Vineyard on the importance of saying "no" to plastic, preventing and recycling food waste, and how to operate in an environmentally responsible manner. A few waste facts to consider -- and share! Food Waste
Ocean Plastic Pollution
For questions and free consultation contact Vineyard Conservation Society: info@vineyardconservation.org Sail Martha's Vineyard: admin@sailmv.org Island Grown Initiative: office@igimv.org |