Green Your Gig: Georgias AwayFromHome Special Events Recycling Program

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Green Your Gig Georgias Away-From-Home
Special Events Recycling Program

• Southeast Festivals and Events 2009 Conference
• Knoxville, TN
• February 17, 2009

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Away-From-Home Recycling

• A 2005 CA study found that patrons at public
  events generate 2.5 lbs/person
• According to research conducted by Tourism New
  Zealand, visitors felt that recycling facilities
  were essential, with almost 80 percent of
  respondents saying they expected such facilities
  at tourism activities.

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Were throwing it all away

• Georgians annually dispose of 2.6 million tons of
  common recyclable materials with a market value
  of over 250 Million.
• Nearly 40 percent of trash thrown away is
  recyclable

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Georgias Away-From-Home Recycling

• Recycling at special events and festivals
• Saves natural resources / recovery of materials
• Saves landfill space
• Saves your reputation prevents litter
• Saves public and private dollars
• Community effort everyone can play a part

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Designing the Program Away-From-Home Recycling

• Visible Easy to Identify
• Portable
• Simple To Use - For patrons and event hosts
• Clear Message Promote recycling behavior

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Designing the Program Away-From-Home Recycling

• Turn-key Operation
• Clear-stream recycling containers
• Carts
• Trailers
• How To Manual
• Promotional Materials

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Georgias Away-From-Home RecyclingKICKOFF 2008

• We expect this initiative to have a measurable
  impact on our statewide environmental and
  recycling efforts.    
•    - Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue     
• 35 Away-From-Home Recycling Grants trailers
  awarded to 29 local governments across the state
• Projected a potential to impact 4.5 million
  Georgia residents and visitors

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Georgias Away-From-Home Recycling Results
April 2008 December 2008

• Number of Events
• 280
• Number of Patrons
• 2.5 Million
• Number of Pounds of Recyclables
• 41,617

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Georgias Away-From-Home RecyclingResults
April 2008 December 2008

• Highest collection during
• July - 6,011 lbs
• September - 7,704 lbs
• October - 11,763 lbs

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Georgias Away-From-Home RecyclingHotoberfest
2008 held in Atlanta

• Glass 3800 lbs
• Plastic 498 lbs
• Aluminum 98 lbs
• Cardboard 1278 lbs

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Georgias Away-From-Home RecyclingUGA Games
Dawg Gone It , Recycle!
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Georgias Away-From-Home RecyclingMake it Your
Own ( go local ! )
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Georgias Away-From-Home RecyclingMake it your
own !
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In Schools and at Parks
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at Sporting Events and Festivals..
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For Any Age
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And Any Species!
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10 Quick Tips for Successful Special Event
Recycling

• Get commitment from the top.
• Call (AHEAD) your solid waste/public works
  departments for info on recycling and composting
  in the area. Go local.
• Develop a plan for collecting and storing
  recycled materials that you retrieve from your
  recycling bins
• Work behind the scenes with vendors before
  going public.
• Prevent waste in the first place by asking
  vendors to use reusable containers instead of
  disposable items. Buy in bulk.
• Start with collection of aluminum cans, plastic
  and cardboard.
• Set up recycling bins near trash cans 1 / bin
• Enlist volunteers to monitor and empty bins.
• Keep signage clear and simple and make their
  REUSEable.
• Start slowly and build on success. Measure your
  results.

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Away-From-Home Recycling How To Get the
Message Home

• DCA OEM would like to ask YOU, the event
  coordinators, for your input on how we can
  promote our special events recycling program.
  Websites? Forums?

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For More Information

• Jennifer Szabo
• Program Coordinator
• Georgia Department of
• Community Affairs
• [phone]
• jennifer.szabo_at_dca.ga.gov