Zero Waste Events

PRC’s Zero Waste Event Services provide a comprehensive solution to waste and litter at your large event.

Zero Waste is a philosophy that seeks to maximize the recovery of resources we commonly throw away, or discards. A “Zero Waste Event” aims to reduce event waste holistically, including purchasing, usage and disposal of resources before, during and after an event. PRC’s Zero Waste Event Services aims:

  1. To minimize the production of discards;
  2. Direct the discards we have to reuse, recycling or composting and;
  3. Manage what we have left as responsibly as possible.

Aggressive Zero Waste Event strategies can recover the resource value of more than 90% of what is discarded. This involves detailed and systematic planning before an event to ensure all of the material is sourced in a sustainable manner and is able to be reused, recycled or composted.

Since 2009, PRC has guided over 60 individual events, many on an annual basis, towards a Zero Waste program through comprehensive planning, training and management. In 2019, PRC provided Zero Waste services to 31 events, educated over 900,000 visitors on Zero Waste practices and diverted over 57 tons of waste from the landfill.

Ready to get started? Review our availability on our calendar, and fill out the event request form!

Event Request Form

How Do I Make My Event Zero Waste?

PRC’s staff will work with you, your venue, and vendors to create a plan for maximum waste minimization and diversion. Through pre-planning, vendor coordination and training, and active management of your event waste, PRC’s Zero Waste Event Services provides a comprehensive solution to wasteful event practices.

PRC’s Zero Waste Team will sort your waste for maximum diversion.
PRC’s Team will provide, set up and manage Zero Waste stations for the duration of your event.
PRC’s Team will answer your guest’s recycling, composting and waste questions.

Why Should Your Event Go Zero Waste?

Economy

Zero Waste is a powerful economic engine. By reducing the creation of discards, or waste avoidance, a person or business saves money by avoiding unnecessary products, packaging and stuff. Reusing, composting and recycling not only preserves the economic and environmental value of the original resource used to create the item; it creates jobs in recovery and re-manufacturing. Reuse, compost and recycle alternatives also avoid the cost of disposal in landfills or incinerators.

Based on the 57 tons of waste diverted from events in 2019, an estimated 141.92 labor hours were created, along with $2,483.62 in wages according to the EPA’s Waste Reduction Model (WARM) (not including hours worked or wages from PRC’s own event staff, simply based on material diversion).

Efficiency

Zero Waste efforts must also focus on the design of products and processes to ensure that all of this stuff is created with an awareness of what will happen to it when it becomes a discard. Zero Waste efforts focus on developing a closed-loop system where material energy is conserved through re-purposing the material, rather than sending it to landfill.

As an example, the WARM model finds that material diverted from the landfill from 2019 events conserved 544 million BTUs of energy, or enough energy to power 5 households for a year.

Environment

Zero Waste principles can be used to limit the toxicity of products and processes to our land, water and atmosphere, further improving the environmental health of our communities.

Based on WARM calculations, the 57 tons of waste diverted from the landfill from events in 2019 removed 123.6 metric tons of Carbon Dioxide equivalent from the atmosphere– equal to the annual emissions of 26 passenger vehicles or conserving 13906 gallons of gasoline.

Event Partners

Our Zero Waste programs work with some of PA’s most popular events, ranging from small community celebrations to week-long arts festivals. Find a list of some of our past events below.

Three Rivers Arts Festival Diverted 78% of Materials in 2018
3 Rivers Pittsburgh Marathon Diverted 94% of Materials in 2018
Steel City Big Pour Diverted 88% of Materials in 2017
Pittsburgh 10 Miler Diverted 94% of Materials in 2017
Beers of the Burgh Festival Diverted 83% of Materials in 2018
Deutschtown Music Festival Diverted 84% of Materials in 2017
ALCOSAN Open House Diverted 98% of Materials in 2017
Pittsburgh VegFest Diverted 82% of Materials in 2017
PUMP Kickball for a Cause Diverted 85% of Materials in 2018
Richard S. Caliguiri Great Race Diverted 95% of Materials in 2018
Kayafest Diverted 89% of Materials in 2018
Hollow Oak Land Trust BrewHaHa Diverted 91% of Materials in 2018
Steel Chef Cookoff Diverted 95% of Materials in 2018
MS Walk Diverted 83% of Materials in 2018
Beers of the Burgh Winter Warmer Diverted 88% of Materials in 2017
Thrival Diverted 67% of Materials in 2016
Hay Day and Green Family Day Diverted 89% of Materials in 2017

Ready to get started? Fill out our event form!

To begin, please submit the Zero Waste Event Management Form. Please submit your request no later than eight weeks prior to your event date. A PRC representative will contact you and begin crafting a personalized Zero Waste Event Services proposal based on your needs.

EVENT FORM