How to deal with your winter event waste in a cost-efficient and sustainable way

George Gash

Published: 01/11/2022

Updated: 30/10/2023

The waste that is produced at a winter event is largely dependent on the type of event that you hold. However, winter events often generate a wide range of waste, mainly consisting of food waste and plastic waste. The waste is created from food stalls and from selling items such as water bottles or using plastic signs to direct eventgoers. Events also frequently require washroom facilities and if it is an outdoor event, portable toilets might be required. Washrooms generate sanitary waste and may require maintenance throughout the event. Currently, most of the waste is thrown into the general waste bin and sent to landfill to be disposed of. But how can this be improved?

The events industry currently relies heavily on single-use plastic. It has been found that over 100 million plastic cups are used at UK events each year and then sent to landfill. This could be avoided by using reusable cups which can be rented or brought and then returned or kept for future events. This can also be applied to other resources such as water bottles and cutlery. You could also go paperless by using e-tickets and providing information about the event online or on a mobile app. This will reduce the amount of paper waste that is generated and needs to be disposed of.

It is important to ensure that there are a generous number of bins placed around the premises and that they are in convenient locations to ensure that eventgoers are using them as much as possible. Often general waste bins are used for all rubbish which then gets sent to landfill. In most cases it would be suggested to use separate bins for different waste categories, however, at an event, it is unlikely that people will place their waste in the correct bins. Flame UK can provide general waste bins that will then be sorted through, and waste separated after collection. This means that all the waste produced will be recycled and reused.

You can minimise food waste by estimating the number of meals that will be required based on the number of people attending the event. It is also useful to trace how much food waste you produce to help estimate and adjust what is required for the next event. Any excess food that is produced can be donated to a food rescue organisation or you can compost it to reduce the amount of food that ends up in the bin. To find out more about food waste and how you can effectively dispose of it, read our blog.

By adopting an effective and sustainable waste management strategy your event will have less of an impact on the environment. This is because less waste will end up in landfill which contributes to global warming by releasing greenhouse gases and toxins into the air and polluting the surrounding areas. By recycling waste, fewer pollutants will be released into the atmosphere which will improve air quality and human health. Do you want to find out more about the negative effects of landfill? Check out our landfill blog.

Adopting an efficient waste management strategy will also save you money as you are less likely to over-order products such as food and therefore will save money on purchasing the stock you require. It is also cheaper to send waste to a recycling facility than it is to send it to landfill. This is due to costly and rising landfill tax and gate fees. You can even make money from recycling some materials as recycling facilities will pay for items such as dry mixed recycling. This is a very easy process as you can search which materials companies will buy your recycling from you to generate income.

Sustainability is currently a huge topic of conversation and is becoming more important to consumers. It has been found that two-thirds of eventgoers ranked waste reduction as a priority over improvements such as security and that customers are more likely to use a business’s services if they are adopting sustainable practices. This means that you can improve your brand image and potentially increase sales by adopting sustainable waste management techniques.

Contact us today to discuss the sustainable and cost-effective solutions that we can provide to dispose of your winter event waste.