Our Commitment to Greening the

2009 Symposium

St. Louis Earth Day and their event greening Recycling On the Go program strives to apply the Earth Day Green event model to events large and small throughout St. Louis.

We are committed to providing the highest level of environmental stewardship possible at the 2009 St. Louis Earth Day Symposium. To date, we have diverted over 5 tons of waste from area landfills by employing comprehensive landfill diversion and resource recovery practices at our events. The Recycling On the Go program has diverted over 70 tons of waste from events in St. Louis over the past three years.

Our green practices include:

Education

Signage throughout the event is designed to quickly and effectively communicate to attendees how they can help contribute to Zero Waste event status by participating in recycling and compost efforts. Staff is on hand to answer questions.Missouri Botanical Garden is supportive of our waste reduction efforts. Catering St. Louis has reengineered the box lunches to eliminate trash, in favor of compostable wrappings. The disposables items in the lunch are either recyclable or compostable. 

Missouri Botanical Garden is supportive of our waste reduction efforts. Catering St. Louis has reengineered the box lunches to eliminate trash, in favor of compostable wrappings. The disposables items in the lunch are either recyclable or compostable.

Waste

Reducing: We educate our vendors, particularly the food vendors, to reinforce our commitment to minimizing waste. You can do your part by recycling your program and any paper handouts you don't want as you leave. We will post all powerpoint presentations on our website for your reference. Note that water pitchers are available for refilling water bottles or cups instead of individual bottled water servings.

Reusing: We reuse what we can from year to year to reduce waste and expense, including signs, banners, and other materials.

Recycling: Look for the BLUE wire recycling containers placed around the event site. ANYTHING that is recyclable - paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, aluminum -  can be mixed in the same container. Do not put food into the recyclers.

Compost: Compost bins will be concentrated in the food area, thanks to Replenishing the Earth. Use the GREEN bins for all food waste, paper wrappings and your lunch box.

NO STYROFOAM: St. Louis Earth Day has banned Styrofoam/#6 plastic from the event - this material is very hard to recycle and never completely breaks down in a landfill.

Food

Catering St. Louis uses some local ingredients in their box lunches. The coffee is all fair-trade certified. They also operate Sassafras, the Garden Café that is the only certified Green Restaurant in St. Louis.

Transportation

The reception and workshop event sites are within walking distance from the Metrolink and all venues are accessible by bus and bike. We strongly urge event attendees to use alternative transport or carpool to all events.

We use local, small vendors for our rentals, services, and product purchases whenever possible.

Merchandise

Water Bottles are available for sale to encourage reuse at the conference and workshop. They are purchased from a local merchant, made from BPA-free plastic, and are recyclable.

We also are selling "Eco-Nomics" a local publication on what you can do to decrease your environmental footprint while saving money at home and at work.

Do your part!

Help us reach zero waste by the following ACTIONS:

• Bring your own water bottle or coffee cup for reuse.

• Place all recyclables in the BLUE recycling containers

• Place all food waste and paper-based wrappings in the GREEN compost containers.

• Recycle your program.

Thank you!