Private/Public Partnership Keeping Trials Green
From biking for energy to supporting local and organic foods, efforts to keep the Olympic Track and Field Trials green are proving a success. Planning efforts to incorporate sustainability elements into the event began 18 months ago and have resulted in a number of collaborative efforts between local, state, and the federal government and private firms employed to help Eugene ’08 become the best track and field trials ever held.
One success of the planning work is a significant reduction in the amount of discards sent to landfill. Over the course of the first four days of the Trials resulted only 40 cubic yards of garbage have been disposed of through landfilling, while 100 cubic yards of commingled recycling has been sent to processors of that material. Another 100 cubic yards of compostable food waste has been sent to a local processor to be made into rich garden compost. It is expected that the event’s recycling rate will exceed 80 percent.
“This event designed its own waste stream to be compostable by making a conscious decision to only allow the use of compostable foodwares to be utilized by food vendors, and with that action was able to divert an enormous amount of material to be made into compost, a value added product. Managing waste as a resource is one of the best way to conserve our landfill, save energy, and improve the economy,” said Sarah Grimm, Lane County’s Waste Reduction specialist and co-chair of the Eugene 08 Sustainability Committee.
The Zero Waste effort is a collaborative effort of the City of Eugene and Lane County to assist the Eugene 08 Olympic Track and Field Trials in excelling in sustainable practices. The City of Springfield is also involved in the recycling effort. An Environmental Protection Agency grant jump started the process by providing funding for the large number of recycling and composting bins sited throughout the event venue.
As thousands of visitors and locals have been bustling into Hayward field, the first loads of compostable waste were ground up at Rexius, the yard debris processor on Monday. Jack Hoeck, Rexius operations manager was pleased with the loads so far, thanks to a hard working team of sorters from Waste Free Oregon who make sure the compostables are free of bottle caps, candy wrappers or other debris.
As thousands more people come out to enjoy the Trials and the Fan Festival, Eugene 08 Sustainability Committee members have made sure it’s an event that keeps the environment in the forefront.
Contacts: Sarah Grimm, Lane County Waste Reduction specialist and Eugene 08 Sustainability Committee co-chair, 682-4339; Alex Cuyler, Lane County Intergovernmental manager and Eugene 08 Sustainability Committee co-chair, 682-6504
From biking for energy to supporting local and organic foods, efforts to keep the Olympic Track and Field Trials green are proving a success. Planning efforts to incorporate sustainability elements into the event began 18 months ago and have resulted in a number of collaborative efforts between local, state, and the federal government and private firms employed to help Eugene ’08 become the best track and field trials ever held.
One success of the planning work is a significant reduction in the amount of discards sent to landfill. Over the course of the first four days of the Trials resulted only 40 cubic yards of garbage have been disposed of through landfilling, while 100 cubic yards of commingled recycling has been sent to processors of that material. Another 100 cubic yards of compostable food waste has been sent to a local processor to be made into rich garden compost. It is expected that the event’s recycling rate will exceed 80 percent.
“This event designed its own waste stream to be compostable by making a conscious decision to only allow the use of compostable foodwares to be utilized by food vendors, and with that action was able to divert an enormous amount of material to be made into compost, a value added product. Managing waste as a resource is one of the best way to conserve our landfill, save energy, and improve the economy,” said Sarah Grimm, Lane County’s Waste Reduction specialist and co-chair of the Eugene 08 Sustainability Committee.
The Zero Waste effort is a collaborative effort of the City of Eugene and Lane County to assist the Eugene 08 Olympic Track and Field Trials in excelling in sustainable practices. The City of Springfield is also involved in the recycling effort. An Environmental Protection Agency grant jump started the process by providing funding for the large number of recycling and composting bins sited throughout the event venue.
As thousands of visitors and locals have been bustling into Hayward field, the first loads of compostable waste were ground up at Rexius, the yard debris processor on Monday. Jack Hoeck, Rexius operations manager was pleased with the loads so far, thanks to a hard working team of sorters from Waste Free Oregon who make sure the compostables are free of bottle caps, candy wrappers or other debris.
As thousands more people come out to enjoy the Trials and the Fan Festival, Eugene 08 Sustainability Committee members have made sure it’s an event that keeps the environment in the forefront.
Contacts: Sarah Grimm, Lane County Waste Reduction specialist and Eugene 08 Sustainability Committee co-chair, 682-4339; Alex Cuyler, Lane County Intergovernmental manager and Eugene 08 Sustainability Committee co-chair, 682-6504