First and foremost, we would like to thank you for your support. We are so happy to have you as a part of the Festival! To help you prepare for the Festival’s Zero Waste Goal this year, we are providing you with important information on how to help us recycle more and send less waste to the landfill. With your full participation, we will increase the amount of recyclables at the event and work with Recycling On the Go (ROG) to divert these items from trash cans, saving them from a forever fate in a landfill.

At the 2022 Festival, earthday365’s ROG Program diverted 93% of the event waste from area landfills. We are very proud that we are able to demonstrate proper waste sorting to all who attend the Festival.  Waste is a significant contributing factor to the negative impact that events have on the environment and health. Your participation is vital and greatly appreciated.

Here is how you can help! Thank you.

During the Festival

earthday365 staff and/or event volunteers will pick up bulk recyclable items like cardboard throughout the event.  Please let us know if you need a pickup.

The following items will be accepted as recyclables and compostables at the event:

Plastic Beverage Cups:  When determining whether or not a cup is recyclable, look on the bottom for one of these symbols. Remember, #6 plastic is not accepted as a recyclable. Common non-recyclable #6 plastic cups include colored Solo cups; very weak, frosted plastic cups; hard, clear cups.

If you have any questions along the way as you are determining your giveaway approach and selecting items, please contact earthday365!

Giving away promotional items is a popular way for companies to get their brand into the hands of attendees. However, this practice has a significant environmental impact. Our goal is to be a low-impact event. Don’t be the company whose name appears on give-a-way items that fill the trash cans at our event and sends a bad message about your business to attendees!

The biggest thing to remember for promotional material is for all materials to be TAKEN by attendees, not GIVEN to them. Freely handing out materials leads to unwanted, unsolicited materials, and eventually waste.

Questions to consider when selecting giveaways:

• Is a giveaway necessary? Is it an effective way to get our brand out? Are there alternatives to the giveaway in this case?
• What is the item made of? Is it made from post-consumer or pre-consumer recyclable materials? Is the material organic (like cotton) or recycled (like some polyester products) or naturally compostable (like fruit or seeds)?
• Is this item made in the USA or overseas? Is the item locally made in Missouri or St. Louis?
• Can this item be easily recycled or composted once it is no longer needed/wanted?
• How long will the recipient want/use this item? Is the Item useful?
• Are the items individually wrapped? How will you contain the wrapping? Can you request that the manufacturer leave out the wrapping? Perhaps you can unwrap prior to the event and recycle plastic bags at the grocery store to avoid letting them enter the event waste stream.

Here are suggestions for items that are unique, useful, high-quality, desirable, and/or support sustainable living. All of our suggestions can be creatively branded:

• Metro passes
• Energy efficient/LED light bulbs
• T-shirts (organic and/or recycled material only)
• Seed packets (organic or heirloom)
• Yearling trees (natives with instructions for planting)
• Coupons (printed on recycled paper with low dye and soy ink)
• Energy efficient/LED night lights
• Upcycled/Reused bicycle chain key chain (See Resource Revival in resources tab)
• Bird Feeder
• Attractive, locally-printed posters/flyers (Fire Cracker Press in resources tab)
• Bottle opener
• Recycled paper notebook or memo pad
• Reusable mug
• Reusable shopping bags
  • There are MANY different varieties, ranging from small stuffable bags to large durable bags. While very useful, it is a common giveaway. Make sure yours is durable, functional, and made with eco-friendly material.
  • Bags made from old banners that include your logo
• Reusable water bottles
  • Metal water bottles are preferred over plastic. If it’s plastic, make sure it is BPA-free and made from # 1, #2, or #5 plastic, which are all recyclable.
  • Have a water cooler available so people can fill them up and use them right away instead of buying bottled water. Maybe include some information about the benefits of tap water over bottled water.
• Pens & Pencils
  • Everyone can use writing implements. Look for options that are good quality (won’t run out of ink quickly) and that are made with recycled plastic or a unique material like recycled currency.
  • Pedro’s Planet has “eco” versions that are biodegradable and recycled.

Examples of items to AVOID:

• Mardi Gras-style beads – (quickly disposable, not eco-friendly)
• Mini-Frisbees that aren’t functional as Frisbees (anything less than 175 gram size)
• T-shirts made from standard cotton or polyester
• Plastic goodie bags
• Candy – wrappers contaminate the waste stream and often end up as litter
• Balloons – quickly become trash or end up in the waterways
• Energy or granola bars – wrappers contaminate the waste stream
• Coozies/drink insulators – overdone, quickly disposable

Here are just a few ideas for appropriate promotional products.

Resource Revival – This US-based company makes promotional products and awards from recycled bicycle parts.

Pedro’s Planet – Eco-friendly office supplies, with an extensive catalog of items that would make great giveaways. It’s locally-owned and a St. Louis community leader.

Seed Packets and Garden Supplies – Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Peaceful Valley, or Seed Savers

Geiger – They offer an Earth Friendly line of promotional products and continuously works towards social responsibility and a declining carbon footprint. Local contact: 314.432.4703

Eco Marketing Solutions – Your source for custom imprinted eco-friendly promotional gifts.

Invite your customers, fans, friends and family to visit your booth and experience the celebration! Please share our official Facebook Event Page for the Festival (when available) and post your involvement.  You can download and print the following materials from the media page of our website:  press releases, the event program, posters and flyers.

You can also share information about the event on Facebook and Twitter. Follow us (@stlouisearthday on Twitter) and like our page on Facebook (earthday365) to receive exciting announcements about the Festival.  Please do not create your own Festival event as it confuses people; please just share our Facebook event.

Please read Set-up Tips for Vendors on how to weatherproof your booth, written by a veteran vendor.  It is very useful information.

Please direct your booth volunteers to our Festival Visitor page for all the possibilities to arrive at the Festival in sustainable style!