Keep Phoenix Beautiful: Your partner for creating a successful “green” event.

KPB is dedicated to environmental responsibility in everything we do.  One example of this commitment is our approach to helping groups and organizations who are planning special events!

One of the ways we can help is to loan your organization recycling stations for use at your special event.  With support from Anheuser Busch and the Hensley Company, Keep Phoenix Beautiful is pleased to loan your organization the use of our recycling containers for your special event. As each container has a value of approximately $125.00, we ask that you return them to us in good condition and that they be clean so we may loan them out again. For every lost or damaged container there will be a replacement charge of $125.00.

We also want to give you some suggestions of what to do with the recycled material that you collect. From small gatherings to large events there are several alternatives.

Small events: Take bags home and empty bags into your home recycling container. After emptying, throw bags into garbage as they are not recyclable.

Large events: For larger events a dedicated dumpster for recyclables in addition to trash is recommended. There are several sources for these including:

City of Phoenix Public Works Department:  602-262-7251
Waste Management: 602-268-2222
Republic Services/Allied Waste: 602-237-2078

For more info, please call 602-262-4820.

Large Scale Events who used our recycling containers - Komen 2012 Phoenix, PF Changs Marathon, Moon Valley Grasshopper 5K, Phoenix10K 2012, Walk to End Alzheimer's 2012.

In Support of Green Meetings:  Keep Phoenix Beautiful encourages “green” meetings and events.

When meetings are being planned, organizers can work with vendors, hotels and meeting planners to promote and advance sustainability through education, action, recognition and control.
·  Education: To inspire and motivate meeting planners (inside and outside the organization) to address sustainability by developing and adopting green meeting practices.
·  Action: Bring planners and suppliers together to create green meetings by providing networking and information sharing.
·  Recognition: Increase the profile of green meetings field through attendee awareness and media coverage.
·  Control: Standardize sustainable meeting practices and providing guidance to meeting planners throughout the organization in an effort to have them make informed and intelligent decisions.

Some of the specific activities that a meeting planner can consider when evaluating hotels and meeting space includes:
·  Request basic recycling (paper, plastic, glass, and cans) and visible bins at hotels and convention centers.
·  Require a linen and towel reuse program at contracted hotels and encourage attendees to use it.
·  Curb energy use by asking facilities to moderate air conditioning and heat and to turn down lighting.
·  Plan to use china and serviceware at your food functions, and not disposables.
·  Ask exhibitors to limit printed materials and giveaways, instead providing those by mail or electronically.
·  Print meeting material/handouts on recycled paper.
·  Don't overprint paper and convention materials, and ensure that they are properly shredded and disposed of.
·  Arrange for beverages and condiments to be served in bulk dispensers during food breaks, minimizing individual servings.
·  Ask attendees to reconfirm their attendance at banquets and food functions.
·  Consider including foods that will keep longer or that can be donated as excess.

Tips for Environmentally Friendly Meetings

The following tips can help you create a foundation for environmentally friendly meeting management:
1. Decide if you need a traditional meeting.
Traditionally, conference attendees travel to the event site. Emissions from flights and ground transportation add up quickly. While there are benefits to having all attendees in the same location, today’s technology makes it possible to hold a meeting without requiring attendees to travel. Think about whether all attendees must at the same location or whether technologies like video teleconferencing, which allows online face-to-face interactions, can be used to reduce the amount of emissions generated from attendance.

2. Help attendees travel greener.
It’s ideal to plan events near a major airport hub that is connected to public transportation. Airport hubs offer the opportunity for more nonstop flights than smaller airports, and these produce fewer emissions than multi-stop itineraries. Airports that are connected to public transportation offer a green and inexpensive way for attendees to travel to the event site. If public transit is not available, provide shuttle buses (preferably hybrid electric or alternative fuel vehicles) for attendee transport to the event site.

3. Choose hotels with a linen reuse policy.
Linen reuse programs reduce energy and water consumption by reducing the number of laundry loads a hotel runs each day saving on hot water and sewer costs involved in laundering operations.

4. Choose facilities that use energy- and water-saving devices, such as compact fluorescent light bulbs and low-flow plumbing fixtures.
Hotels and conference centers use enormous amounts of water and energy in their everyday operations. By choosing a facility that uses energy- and water-saving technologies, you can make your meetings greener.

5. Choose hotels and conference centers with established recycling programs.
This will ensure that attendees have accessible recycling options. Find out what items can be recycled at the facilities under consideration for the event. Items to ask for include: paper, and plastic, metal, and glass beverage containers. Find out where the recycling collection bins are located. Having collection bins in the halls adjacent to meeting rooms is ideal to increase the recycling rate. Event planners can also help by collecting badges from attendees at the end of the conference for reuse at another event. This saves money as well.

6. Use electronic marketing, registration, agendas, handouts, and proceedings.
Meetings can generate an enormous amount of paper, from registration forms to handouts to publications. Today’s technology offers many options for requesting and providing information electronically in a safe and secure manner.

Here are some ideas:
·  Collect registration forms through the event’s web site.
·  Collect presentation abstract submissions online.
·  Post draft and final agendas on the event web site.
·  E-mail marketing documents instead of sending hard copies.
·  Post event proceedings online.

7. Use double-sided printing and post-consumer recycled content paper, printed using vegetable-based inks.
Avoiding all printing is not an option for some events. When the printing of documents and publications is necessary, use double-sided printing to decrease paper use. Better yet, print on recycled content paper. Also, use vegetable-based inks for printing.

8. Choose reusable serving utensils, table linens, and food and beverage containers whenever possible.
Reusable serving dishes and utensils eliminate a great amount of waste. Polystyrene serving items are made from petroleum, are not easily recycled, and are a common source of marine debris. Some paper cups can be composted, but more often they end up in the waste stream. By using ceramic food and beverage containers and reusable utensils and table linens, planners can reduce the amount of waste their events generate.

9. Share your green practices with attendees.
Not only does sharing this information demonstrate your commitment to greening your events, but it also serves to raise awareness. Attendees will share this information with others as well and become aware of the green choices they have the next time they travel or attend an event.

10.  Make recycling easy.
Recycling stations should be easily accessible and placed near garbage containers.  Clear signage should be used to allow attendees to place recyclable material into the proper containers.

Selecting Hotels and Vendors
When soliciting meeting and conference facilities, ask the following questions and make this part of the evaluation criteria:
1. Do you have a recycling program? If so, please describe.
2. Do you have a linen/towel reuse option that is communicated to guests?
3. Do guests have easy access to public transportation or shuttle services at your facility?
4. Are lights and air conditioning turned off when rooms are not in use? If so, how do you ensure this?
5. Do you provide bulk dispensers or reusable containers for beverages, food, and condiments?
6. Do you provide reusable serving utensils, napkins, and tablecloths when food and beverages are served?
7. Do you have an energy-efficiency program? Please describe.
8. Do you have a water-conservation program? Please describe.
9. Does your facility provide guests with paperless check-in and checkout?
10. Does your facility use recycled or recyclable products? Please describe.
11. Do you source food from local growers or take into account the growing practices of farmers that provide the food? Please describe.
12. Do you use bio-based or biodegradable products, including bio-based “cafeteriaware”? Please describe.
13. Do you provide training to your employees on these green initiatives?