Why measure waste impacts?
There are good environmental and economic reasons why event managers need to consider the amounts of waste generated through the event life cycle, and opportunities to recycle. Why should we try and assess the connection between events and waste production, and recycling behaviour? Answers include:
- Excessive litter and waste at event sites can undermine stakeholder and sponsor support for events, and can threaten the status of future events.
- Excessive waste on event sites and poor management of waste streams affects the experience of visitors, and can impact on future visitation.
- Waste-handling and landfill is costly for event organisers and for society. Landfilled waste and the transportation of waste cause harmful emissions.
- Poorly managed waste streams can have long term environmental impacts. These impacts can be acute where events are held adjacent to countryside and water courses.
In addition to this, events through their communications can educate visitors and participants about the environmental impacts of waste, and can work to change consumer behaviour with respect to waste, packaging and recycling. Large scale events also have the potential to promote sustainable behaviours on waste production and treatment with suppliers of goods and services.
For these reasons pproaches to waste management, waste reduction and recycling should form part of event planning before the event, and the waste streams generated by events (directly and indirectly) should be monitored.
Measuring waste can be problematic
Volumes, nature and destination of waste associated with an event, either as part of infrastructure development, event operations or visitor consumption are complex to measure. This is due to the mix of responsible agents, venues, local authorities, organisers and attendees/participants.
Within the framework of ISO 20121 scoping expected event waste impacts is appropriate, together with key drivers, and how waste flows will be managed. As this is an area where event organisers do not have sole responsibility, engagement with partners (typically contractors and local authorities) is important, and will assist with data collection. For smaller events it is expected that process monitoring will take precedence over quantitative measurement: i.e.
- Is the waste strategy fit for purpose?
- Are waste facilities signposted?
- Are attendees advised to requirement to deposit, reduce and recycle waste?
Basic measures
The basic waste measures focus on the presence of waste plans and systems. This is a first step towards the development of more complex measures. These are important. The presence of plans and systems reveals that event managers are beginning the process of engaging with the environmental impact agenda, and actively considering how their events might create different types of waste streams and recycling opportunities. Furthermore, public and private sector sponsors may seek assurance in the presence of these waste plans and systems.
Basic measures would include:
- A Waste Management Plan that considers how event waste arising will be managed. Below are several resources that can assist event organisers when developing a waste management plan for their event.
Intermediate measures
Intermediate waste measures focus on physical indicators, typically amounts of waste produced, and then considers different management options for waste streams generated. In some jurisdictions it may not be enough just to consider total amounts of waste produced but rather to consider and measure different waste streams (i.e. explicitly considering waste streams that are inert as opposed to hazardous, and with this having implications for management options).
The intermediate measures also need to consider the amounts of waste that can be efficiently recycled or re-used. The costs of landfill can be high in some locations.
Intermediate measures could include:
- Total waste produced at event site
- Waste produced per event-related visitor/participant
- Proportion of waste sent to landfill
- Proportion of waste diverted from landfill (including recycling, composted)
- Proportion of food and drink containers made from recyclable/biodegradable material
- Proportion of signs, banners, tents etc that can be used for multiple years
Some of the intermediate measures can be developed in conjunction with waste contractors who will be able to estimate total tonnage of waste going to landfill, as this is connected to charges. These same contractors may also be able to report on the different management options for the waste collected. In these cases information from waste contractors can be applied to estimates of total attendance at events. Then with the intermediate measures for waste specific primary survey is unlikely to be necessary. For example, suppliers of food and drink at events will have some information on the construction of their packaging and containers.
Advanced measures
The advanced measures for waste typically involve tracking changes in waste output over time and/or tracking particular waste streams which are known to be hazardous. The collection of time series data on waste variables can be used to track performance, but care needs to be taken here. For example, changes in the composition of waste streams, or changes in amounts recycled, or in gross amounts of waste, which may relate to factors beyond the control of the event manager such as changed regulations or increased costs associated with landfill. Selected advanced measures may also incur higher costs. For example, waste contractors may require compensation for more detailed analysis of the direction, management and contents of event-related wastes.
Advanced measures include:
- Waste footprint of event-related visitors
- Proportion of waste classified as inert/hazardous
- Changed composition of event related waste streams
- Changes in amount of waste produced per event-related visitor/participant
- Changes in proportion of waste diverted from landfill (i.e. increase recycling and composting)
- Reduction in waste produced at event site
- Reduction in waste produced per event-related visitor