At this year’s Glenroy Festival there wasn’t a disposable plate to be seen.
After successful trials, Merri-bek Council teamed up with local enterprise Green My Plate. They provided 2,500 reusable plates and bowls plus cutlery to the festival’s food stalls, and 250 upcycled mugs to the coffee van.
“Our Plastic Wise policy aims to reduce plastic waste at events,” says Molly O’Brien, Merri-bek’s Towards Zero Waste Project Officer.
“Using bamboo or cardboard disposable items was great for keeping plastic out of our local rivers and ocean, but didn’t really help with waste reduction. This is our next step.”
13 kilograms of waste avoided
After eating, festival attendees deposited their plates and bowls in special pink collection bins, and their food waste in green bins. Green My Plate staff washed and returned the crockery to the food stalls for reuse.
“We avoided 13 kilograms of single-use item waste at the Glenroy Festival,” says Green My Plate co-founder Will Overman. “That’s two whole wheelie bins!”
Bin Fairies
We also trialled Green My Plate’s new composting service for food waste. “It went really well,” says Molly.
“To support the service, Green My Plate provided Bin Fairies, who made sure people were putting things in the right bins.”
Creating community
Molly says that the switch to reusables at several Council events has been a success. “It’s nice to present an alternative way of doing things,” she explains.
“There’s way less waste, the bins aren’t full, and a big benefit is the reduction in litter around the festival site. Also, with reusable plates, people tend to sit down and eat rather than wander around. It creates a nice sense of community.”
