Written by Kirsty Smyth, Zero Waste Program Manager
A beer festival might not be the first place you’d look for waste reduction in action, but this September, the Whistler Village Beer Festival diverted 91% of its waste from landfill.
With empty cans, bottles and other materials moving through a busy festival site, getting waste sorting right takes more than a few bins. It takes planning, clear guidance for vendors and a team ready to adapt as the event unfolds.
Planning for success
Successful waste diversion starts well before event day. AWARE worked with GFL Environmental, the Gibbons event team and vendors in advance, providing guidance documents to establish a clear, consistent approach to waste management and sorting. Getting everyone on the same page helped ensure that materials could be sorted correctly and diverted from landfill wherever possible.
On the day, AWARE operated three waste stations across the festival site. Their locations and setup were adapted in collaboration with the Gibbons team to respond to changing crowd patterns and traffic flows. This flexible approach helped keep waste stations accessible and supported effective sorting throughout the event.
Collecting bottles and cans
Across the festival, AWARE managed more than 171 kg of waste. Bottles and cans accounted for over 48% of the total ( 83kg or the average weight of a Canadian man!), making clear systems for collecting these materials particularly important.
Working closely with vendors, the team established clear processes for handling empty bottles and cans, helping ensure these valuable materials were kept out of landfill. With practical guidance, well-positioned waste stations and collaboration between the event organisers, vendors and zero waste team, waste could be managed as a resource rather than simply something to throw away.
The result? A 91% diversion rate from landfill
That means the vast majority of the waste managed at the festival was diverted from landfill through appropriate recovery and recycling streams, rather than being disposed of as garbage.
Making zero waste part of the festival experience
Large events bring unique waste management challenges. Busy sites, changing crowd movements and a wide variety of materials all require careful planning and coordination. The Whistler Village Beer Festival demonstrated how working together, preparing vendors and adapting to conditions on the ground can deliver meaningful results.
For AWARE, zero waste event services go beyond sorting bins. They provide an opportunity to help event organisers improve their waste systems, recover valuable materials and make better-informed decisions about future events. With support from Gibbons and GFL Environmental, this year’s festival showed that reducing waste doesn’t have to take away from the experience. By building practical waste management into event planning, it’s possible to create memorable experiences while reducing the amount of material sent to landfill.
Zero Waste Heroes
Zero Waste Heroes is AWARE’s professional event waste management service for the Sea to Sky region. We partner with event organizers to reduce waste from the earliest planning stages through to event delivery and post-event reporting.
Whether you’re organizing a conference, festival, trade show, or community event, we work with event organizers to develop a waste management plan that fits your goals, event size, and budget.
If you are planning an event in the Sea to Sky region, we would love to help you on your zero waste journey. Find out more here.
