Reducing waste at events
Avoiding creating waste is a great opportunity to enhance the profile of your event and reduce your impact on the environment.
To help you plan, a useful 'How To Reduce Waste at Events' information guide (1.1MB PDF) is available.
We’ve also made this video on how to successfully manage waste reduction at a public event:
These resources cover:
- What a zero waste event looks like and how to organise it
- Common barriers and how to overcome them
- How taking responsibility for waste will make your event shine
- Cutting waste out of your system
- Reusable solutions and learning which containers will suit your event
- Capitalising on sponsorship opportunities
- How to become a leader in event waste minimisation
There are also some great ‘how to’ videos to help you plan and deliver a great waste-free event.
Council supports Waste No More's Wash Against Waste trailer - find out more here (905KB PDF)
You can download signage for bins below:
- Waste – Para (14KB PDF)
- Recycle – Hangarua (18KB PDF)
- Foodscraps – Para Kai (sign includes paper plates, serviettes, wooden cutlery) (15KB PDF)
- Glass – Kōata (16KB PDF)
- Compostable Plastics (16KB PDF)
- Coffee Cups and Lids Go Here (for use in conjunction with other signs) (13KB PDF)
To learn more about what can be recycled check out our Kerbside Recycling Service. You can also learn more about compostable plastic.
Greenwaste to Zero can accept some ‘compostable’ items at their discretion (please see the pictures below). However, FOOD MUST BE REMOVED FROM THESE ITEMS (staff will reject any load which is contaminated by food so please make sure plates are scraped off before they go to be composted). Please also note that any compostable item which resembles plastic cannot be accepted as it takes too long to process.
COMPOSTABLE COFFEE CUPS WILL BE ACCEPTED, BUT NOT COMPOSTABLE LIDS AS THEY TAKE TOO LONG TO BREAK DOWN.
Please contact Greenwaste to Zero on 03 544 8857 before taking your event waste to them. Disposal charges apply.
If you have any questions about how Council supports the reduction of waste or would like some advice on your event, email lesswaste@ncc.govt.nz
Let us help you reducing waste at your events
As part of Council’s work to support our community to avoid the creation of waste, we are keeping a focus on reducing waste at events. An important step is to enable event organisers to build waste avoidance into business as usual at an early stage, as well as develop plans for before, during and after each event.
Whilst many event organisers are doing good work in this area, some organisers can find this challenging. In order to strengthen capacity, Council is providing an advisory service through Nelson Environment Centre. This service will provide support to event organisers at the planning stage; help them deliver good outcomes; and measure and report after the event. The intention is to create plan templates, guidelines and case studies to support event organisers in the future.
A limited number of events will be able to receive this report - to find out more contact Nelson Environment Centre on 03 545 9176, or email info@nec.org.nz