Waste-Free Events
A Wash Against Waste trailer in action, c/o Mount Alexander Sustainability Group.
It is Fete, Fair and Festival time of year again here in the Macedon Ranges and we are happily noticing a growing interest in taking these events “waste-free”. The Waste Action Group together with Macedon Ranges Shire Council are building a Wash Against Waste trailer that will hopefully be in action next year, but in the meantime we’ve been doing some research into the best – and not so great – options for waste-free catering at events.
We want to share our findings so that next time you are part of a group organising a community event, or even just hanging out at a Festival, you can make waste-smart decisions.
Biodegradable, Compostable, Reuseable, Disposable – What’s the Difference?
The biggest type of waste generated at events tends to be around food consumption: the coffee cups, drink cups, plates, dishes and cutlery. Not to mention the wasted food on and in those containers.
Cups:
Thanks to the ABC’s War on Waste TV series, we are all now aware of just how many disposable coffee cups Australia goes through on a daily basis (2.7 million, if you didn’t know). So, many companies and coffee vendors have been seeking alternatives to suit customer demand.
Biopak, Pak360 and Greenpak:
These cups claim to be compostable with a compostable lid. They are generally made with bioplastic – PLA (Poly-lactic-acid), which is plant-derived. However, PLA products need to be commercially composted through a specialised industrial process in order to fully break down.
If these cups are put into landfill or ordinary home compost bins, they take more than 40 years to break down.
So, what’s good about these cups? Where councils have a FOGO or organics waste collection in place, they can go in green bins. Some companies like Pak360 and Biopak offer a limited composting collection option for vendors to sign up to if there is no green waste collection service.
But realistically, people grabbing a coffee tend to wander off and can’t be relied on to return it to a single collection bin next to the coffee stand or shop, so while this seems like a good concept it doesn’t necessarily work in real life.
Waste-free or Wasteful?
A tricky one: We vote potentially waste-free with a Council or commercial green waste service, but more likely to be wasteful based on people’s behaviour.
Plates:
Palm leaf plates and bowls are becoming very popular with food trucks, and it’s easy to see why. These are made from a naturally available product: the fallen leaves of the Areca Palm (Dypsis lutescens), native to Madagascar, but grown commercially all over the world. The crockery is made by heat-compression of the leaves without additional chemicals, is lightweight and claims to be 100% waste-free.
As a completely natural product without any additives, these products are compostable in a home compost bin. In fact, after the Sustainable Living Festival in March 2019, the Waste Action Group collected several of these plates along with discarded food waste in buckets distributed around the site. I took this waste home and shared it out between my worm farm and my chook pen. In both cases, the leaf plates had completely disappeared within 3 months. So this is verifiable!
Sugarcane Plates:
Similarly, these plates are made of heat-compressed plant material, in this case a by-product of the sugar cane industry. They are also 100% home compostable.
Paper plates:
Paper plates from the supermarket are often coated in a thin layer of plastic, similar to regular disposable coffee cups. If they are wax coated, then they are potentially compostable, but if the wax is petroleum-based, you will be putting unknown chemicals into your compost. Not ideal if you then use that compost on your veggie garden.
The safest bet with paper plates is to buy those that say “100% home compostable” or that are 100% plant-based. These usually need to be purchased at a specialist outlet, not the supermarkets.
Waste-free or Wasteful?
If you use and collect plates that are made from 100% plant material and compost them, this is a good waste-free option.
However, when thrown into landfill these plates will add methane into the atmosphere so better to keep them out of landfill by setting up collection bins.
Cutlery:
Wooden cutlery is becoming a popular disposable option by many food vendors and is widely available. This cutlery is made from plantation birch, often coated in carnauba wax for a smooth, splinter-free finish.
As such, these are compostable at home although they can take a long time to break down – as would a stick or other woody material.
However, it is not always clear if the cutlery is coated in a natural wax or a petroleum-based one, particularly if the cutlery was processed in a country without strict food-safety standards.
Again, if bought from a reputable company, and it states 100% natural product on the packaging, then you should be good to go.
Waste-free or Wasteful?
Generally waste-free, if collected and composted.
Reuseable Crockery and Cutlery:
Washing up is so hot right now! This option is close to our hearts at Waste Action, as this is the direction we are moving in with our planned Wash Against Waste trailer. However, this option needs to be examined alongside the other options as there are pros and cons with everything.
Re-useable dishes can be made of anything that can withstand multiple use: plastic, china, wood or metal.
Most community groups that do a lot of catering use inexpensive china, either from the Op Shop or big outlet stores. It’s relatively easy to use and clean, and can be cheaply replaced when there are breakages or losses.
Wooden plates and bowls are harder to clean and don’t meet Food Safety Standards (even if they were popular back in the 70s!).
Enamel plates and bowls are sturdy and easy to clean, but usually not dishwasher-proof and when they chip, can cause issues. Great for camping, but not always good for big events.
Plastic varies in quality, but melamine, which is a heat-proof and hard-wearing plastic is another good option. It is lightweight, meaning it is easier to transport and carry back and forth to food vendors, and doesn’t break easily or warp in hot water.
For Reusable crockery to work it really just needs one thing: PEOPLE!
Washing up is the original people-powered solution to waste-free catering. The more the merrier, and it is a great way for people to come together for a common cause.
With a washing-up station, and collection stations for dirty items at various points around a venue or site, there is less chance of your cups, plates or bowls ending up in landfill by mistake.
Water Use:
This is a genuine consideration, as washing up can use a fair bit of water. Dirty water can be disposed of down a sump drain, but in our drought-affected country, it makes more sense to either put it through a grey-water recycling system or just empty it onto the ground. EPA regulations are OK with food-waste water being emptied in small quantities (i.e. 1 bucket at a time) on open ground, so long as it is away from the washing site and food prep areas. At most Summer events, that is perfectly feasible – just don’t put it on a veggie garden! And make sure to use an eco-friendly washing up liquid.
Sanitisation:
This is important to note – at a public event food must be served on sanitised crockery and cutlery. This means either rinsing everything in a sanitising chemical or very hot water. Hot water can be an OHS risk, especially if there are kids involved in doing the washing up. So this step needs to be considered and managed with care.
Waste-free or Wasteful?
If done with care and preparation, this is a really good waste-free option!
Other ways to reduce waste at events:
YES:
Collect compostable waste and distribute to worms, chickens, pigs or compost bins.
Use bamboo or compostable sticks for curly potatoes or fairy floss, and remember to provide collection buckets for the used sticks!
Hire water fountains from local water suppliers
Group your bins – this one is very important: Group bins together, have nice clear signage indicating what goes where. If you live in a state where there is a container deposit scheme, put out separate bins for bottles and cans, and make some money after your event! Why not have a couple of “bin fairies” stationed by the bins to remind people which one to use?
Spread the word ahead of time – let everyone know your event is aiming to be waste-free well in advance.
NO:
Single-use non-compostable disposable cups, plates, cutlery: there are alternatives.
Plastic straws – these are a menace!
Plastic bags – there are plenty of alternative options now.
Balloons – use brightly coloured bunting instead! Home-made decorations are a lovely touch and can be as creative as you like.
Wrappers and lollies – lolly sticks are as bad a menace as straws, worse in some ways as they are smaller and less noticeable when dropped. Cookies and cupcakes are just as yummy and create less rubbish.