The Event Recycling Project is a partnership between the City of Portland's Bureau of Planning & Sustainability and Community Environmental Services (CES) which focuses on increasing the diversion rate (recycling) at the numerous events which take place throughout Portland. The project has been growing at historical rates and is currently supporting 130 plus events yearly in the Portland Metro Region, in addition to all of the major waterfront events such as the Rose Festival, Blues Festival, Cinco de Mayo, Brewers Festival, The Bite of Oregon and Race for the Cure. With the main focus being the collection of bottles and cans through utilization of the clear-stream recycling container, CES has been able to help event coordinators divert a large portion of their waste stream into the recycling stream.
For the first time in 2008 the Event Recycling Team will begin to push for more composting at devoted events. With the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability’s Portland Composts! program in full force, opportunities have arisen where diversion of food waste from event waste streams is now possible. This will be a long road to embark on; however, with evidence that nearly 60% of the waste stream coming out of events is compostable, it will be a road worth traveling.
The Event Recycling Project is supervised by CES Project Coordinator, Eric T. Crum, and Field Research Assistant, Ryan Trif. These two have been working diligently throughout the summers in order to make Portland a place that recycles at Home, at Work and at PLAY!
