Home » For Event Planning » Case Studies

Green Gatherings

Linden Hills Neighborhood Festival

Event Overview
Location (City/Venue): 
Minneapolis - Linden Hills Park
Number of Attendees: 
approx 4,000
Organization Hosting Event: 
Linden Hills Neighborhood Council
Brief Background on Event: 

Held annually for more than 25 years, the Linden Hills Festival is both a fundraiser for the neighborhood organization (http://www.lindenhills.org) and a neighborhood event. Linden Hills is a very family-friendly and progressive neighborhood located in SW Minneapolis. The Festival first undertook a zero waste initiative in 2008 and has continued in subsequent years.

Keiko Veasey compacting collected organic materials for composting
some of the collected recycling from Linden Hill Festival, sorted for collection
less than a single bag of trash from day-long neighborhood festival!
Food
Food Practices: 
Required safe food handling practices
Used good menu planning and portion control to reduce waste
Implemented a food waste recovery initiative (food to hogs, composting, etc.)
Other: 

Made adjustments in food offerings and service to allow for composting, including but not limited to wrapping hot dogs with paper instead of foil, serving ice cream in paper cups with compostable spoons instead of plastic, creating a condiment station with bulk condiments instead of individual foil packets, adding roasted corn-on-the-cob as a food option, and more.

Waste & Recycling
Waste Management Methods Used: 
Trash Disposal
Recycling
Organics Management (food/paper waste composting, food to hogs, food donation, etc.)
Volume (cubic yards/tons) of Waste Managed: 
448.86 pounds of organic material for composting, 13.16 pounds of plastic bottles for recycling, 20.78 pounds of recyclable cardboard, 31.38 pounds of aluminum cans, 13.12 pounds of glass recycling, 12.36 pounds of plastic bags and plastic wrap (i.e., these are not recycled through the city of Minneapolis, but through the "It's in the Bag" program http://www.mnwastewise.org/recycling-programs/its-in-the-bag.cfm), 7.08 pounds of other recyclable plastics (i.e., plastics that are recyclable, but not collected by the city - such as plastic caps, coffee cup lids, etc... There are misc programs that collect & recycle these items.) and...39.22 pounds of trash
Program Audiences: 
Recycling - Vendors/Exhibitors
Recycling - Event Participants
Organics Management - Vendors/Exhibitors
Organics Management - Event Participants
Additional Information: 

We recruited volunteers for 2-hour shifts as 'disposal monitors' to assist event attendees with proper disposal - recycling, organic composting, or trash options.

For the table coverings for the silent auction area (30+ tables), we used recycled kraft paper (purchased in bulk on a roll), secured with masking tape. All the table coverings were then recycled (organics) at the conclusion of the event.

All vendors and exhibitors were informed about (and agreed to) the restrictions associated with their respective booths ahead of time.

We rented carts for organics collection through the city of Minneapolis and borrowed (free of charge) portable recycling units (PRUs) to collect recyclable materials through a loan program at Hennepin County.

Our success was the feature of a column in the Star Tribune! (http://www.startribune.com/local/94005959.html?page=1&c=y)

Waste Reduction
Waste Reduction Methods Used: 
Use of technology to minimize paper waste (e.g. online registration, webcasting, no printing of meeting materials
Use of reusable or recyclable decorations or signs
Redesigned menu to reduce waste (e.g. more finger foods)
Construction and Deconstruction
Rental of temporary structures (e.g., stages, tenting)
Results
Volume of waste diverted from trash through recycling/organics collection: 
547 pounds diverted from trash
What has been your biggest success in terms of green initiatives at your event?: 

Raising the awareness of organics recycling for the neighborhood and serving as an example for other neighborhood events.

What has been your biggest challenge in terms of green initiatives at your event?: 

Since many attendees walk to the event, many people bring non-recyclable and non-compostable items INTO the event which we must then deal with...which is the bulk of the 'trash' at the end of the day. The Festival itself produces nearly zero waste.

How were the green initiatives received by event attendees and/or vendors?: 

Very well received by most attendees, as long as disposal stations were monitored by friendly and helpful volunteers. Vendors were very accommodating and for the most part willing (and excited) to work on this goal. Likewise, most exhibitors were accommodating and were willing to adjust their giveaways or handouts to conform with our zero waste goals.

Will you plan to implement green initiatives again?: 

Definitely! This is the third year the Linden Hills Festival has gone zero waste, with increased success each time. It is now expected at the Festival! We are looking for ways to expand our green initiatives beyond the waste arena as well.