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                    Waste management

                    Recycling symbol of three arrows forming a triangle
                    Waste is a big part of any event and typically comes from construction activity, promotional materials, and food and drinks.

                    ​Organise your event to minimise the waste you create by thinking about what you buy and where it will go. 

                    Work with event partners, stall holders and contractors to minimise waste before, during and after your event.

                    Did you know?

                    Our waste is growing at double the rate of our population with 52 mega tonnes generated a year. Australia is ranked fifth highest for generating the most municipal waste in the world.

                    Check out more interesting facts about waste.

                    You may need to rely on your stall holders, contractors, staff and patrons to put their waste in the right bin, so it helps to educate them with appropriate signage, and importantly – make it easy with good access to bins in the right places.

                    Infographic depicting five tips for waste management at events. See 'Top five tips' below for full details.  

                    Top five tips

                    1. Provide recycling and organic waste collection bins
                    2. Avoid single use waste as much as possible. If you can’t reuse it, refuse it: 
                      • straws 
                      • plastic water bottles 
                      • plastic bags, cutlery and packaging 
                      • any merchandise or giveaways that you know won’t be used beyond the event.
                    3. Reward attendees for bringing their reusable cups, bags and bottles with discounts or opportunities to enter competitions via social media. 
                    4. Add extra cost to single use items to encourage reusable items. For example, make coffees and alcoholic beverages 50 cents extra in takeaway cups. 
                    5. Partner with an organisation that collects leftover food and redistributes it to people in need, or compost / send your food waste to a worm farm.

                    You could also:

                    1. Purchase items that are made out of recycled material, are recyclable, reusable or have a guarantee they are made to last. 
                    2. Avoid products with excessive packaging or buy in bulk (for example, swap single-serve packaged products with loose or bulk packaged items). 
                    3. Purchase products with an environmental or social certification, such as Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), fair trade or carbon neutral
                    4. Support sharing goods and services (hiring or leasing), rather than buying. 
                    5. Provide staff with reusable bottles (or ask them to bring their own) and provide or sell reusable bottles or cups to your attendees for use across your event. 
                    6. Ask caterers to avoid single use waste products or products with excessive packaging (for example, swap single-serve sauce packets for a condiment station).

                    See also: Food and drinks, Product purchasing

                    Download the infographic

                    Planning template

                    To help you plan for waste and resource recovery at your event, we’ve created a template: 
                    Sustainable events: Waste management planning template

                    More information

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