The Waste and Resources Action Programme and the UK’s £36 billion ($54.6 billion) events industry have launched an initiative with the goal of sending zero waste to landfills by 2020.
The UK events industry, which supports about 25,000 businesses and half a million full-time-equivalent jobs, is projected to grow to £48 billion by 2020, according to WRAP. While some of the sector recycles as much as 50 percent at events, most events average 15 percent, with most of the waste going to UK landfills.
The Events Industry Roadmap, developed by WRAP in partnership with the industry, is part of the government-funded program’s work on the European Pathway to Zero Waste (EPOW) project. The roadmap draws on lessons learned from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which met targets to send zero waste to landfill and ensure 70 percent of waste is reused, recycled or composted.
The roadmap is aimed at event organizers/planners, managers and contractors, venue owners and promoters, corporate sponsors, local authorities, waste contractors, hospitality and catering companies, and construction firms and builders. It provides a how-to guide on measuring waste levels, setting targets, promoting recycling and working across the supply chain to limit waste.
In addition to the roadmap’s environmental benefits, making waste prevention part of an event’s plan will save businesses money and provide economic benefits to communities by attracting tourists to the UK, resource management minister Lord de Mauley said.
WRAP says the events roadmap website will be a central repository for materials and information relating to achieving zero waste events. This includes WRAP’s Event Resource Management Plan Tool, an online tool for event organizers and suppliers to manage event waste, as well as the London 2012 Learning Legacy documents and best-practice case studies.