Ambury Farm Park Open Day
- Event Type: Large outdoor unticketed
- Description: Annual, free, one day event open to the general public with food
available for purchase and music provided. - Size: 30,000 attendees in 2015
- Location: Auckland Council’s Ambury Farm Park, Mangere Bridge, Auckland
- Waste Separation: Recyclables, organics, landfill waste
- Performance: 89% diversion in 2015
How we did:
1 Reduce incoming waste
Our event team set clear requirements for vendors to use compostable packaging and separate waste. We also ensured they adhered to these standards.
2 Choose the right bin
Having predictable waste material types meant bin types could target the right waste streams with appropriate ratios.
3 Let people know
We moved away from printed flyers and used social media instead. The result was less waste and no drop in visitors.
4 Capture feedback
We have measured and assessed waste diversion over the last two years, seeing an improvement from 79% to 89% as a result of changes made.
Ambury Farm Park Open Day 2015, 89% Zero Waste
Key Messages:
- Our main message is that recycling waste at events is easy!
- Both attendees and vendors were really keen to help as long as there was clear information about what to do.
- Allowing for plenty of bins and space for the collected material made sure everything was kept under control.
Key Learnings:
- Smaller community events are often held on a very tight budget
- Make sure you have the right number of community volunteers
- Weather can make numbers at outdoor events unpredictable
- Harder to communicate in advance with visitors without ticketing
- Lots of different groups can be involved, needing coordination
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