The Spring 2009 festival was our first pass at holistically running a “green” festival, making us the largest central Texas street festival to do so. We aimed not only to lower our impact on the environment, but to bridge the gap between entertainment and sustainability. We succeeded in diverting an incredible amount of waste through our recycling program utilizing color coded signs at the bin-stations. We continue to build on our efforts utilizing chemical-free portapotties, biodiesel fuel in our generators (and capturing used cooking oil to recycle back into biofuel), solar stages as well as recycling. As last spring, this spring we will also have a specified “Environmental Section” at the festival highlighting businesses, artists, organizations and local, organic food/drink vendors dedicated to environmental responsibility. Of course, many of our vendors throughout the festival are “green” – you’ll see native bird propagators, solar power installation companies, locally produced food and drink items and many artists employing locally produced materials or found objects. The specified section merely communicates to participants the importance of a greener world.
——HOW YOU CAN HELP——-
BRING YOUR OWN CANVAS/SHOPPING BAG as you do when grocery shopping…put all your items in one bag, avoiding multiple –in some cases, plastic– bags from vendors.
RECYCLE! Be mindful of properly separating at the trash/recycling stations. Act as an “Earth Guardian” at the festival: encourage others to dispose of their waste products appropriately. You could also VOLUNTEER a few hours of your time during the weekend to ensure success. We will provide gift incentives to entice you! Email us if interested.
RIDE YOUR BIKE!
Here’s a map of bicycle lanes/paths in Austin.
RIDE THE BUS!
Click here for the Cap Metro route planner.
————————————————-GREEN RESOURCES——————————————-
REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT – Find out your footprint at Cool Austin
FIND OUT ABOUT AUSTIN ECO-EVENTS & MORE at Austin EcoNetwork
