In 2013, AWARE began the Zero Waste Heroes Program to address the high waste footprint of events that were being held in Whistler and surrounding communities. Since then, the program has had over 120,000 station users, diverting more than 15,000kg of waste from landfill. The Zero Waste Heroes Program offers the following services:
Pre-Event Waste Reduction Support
AWARE believes the best way to reduce waste is to not produce it in the first place. The second best way involves outfitting your event with recoverable, compostable and recyclable items. AWARE will assist your staff in identifying these items to aid in reducing the amount of waste your event generates and sends to landfill.
Zero Waste Stations at the Event
Our knowledgeable Zero Waste Heroes staff will oversee hosted waste segregation stations on course and through your event grounds. These stations act as collection points for event waste. This also acts as an opportunity to educate event attendees on reducing their own waste and helping people understand why your event chose to pursue its zero waste goal.
Post-Event Diversion Follow Up
AWARE monitors the waste diversion weights from the event and provides a recommendation report, which showcases your successes and identifies areas for improvement that your event can use as a baseline to beat in years to come.
This summer, our team provided support to the following events:
- Whistler Farmers Market
- Whistler Half Marathon
- XFondo
- Squamish Constellation Festival
- Whistler Village Beer Festival
- RBC GranFondo Whistler
- Whistler 50 & Ultra
- Myrtle Philip May Day Event
The 2022 Zero Waste Stations had over 40,000 users and the team was able to divert over 3400 kg of waste from the landfill.
All proceeds raised from the program fee for service initiative continually supports AWARE’s local work, which includes safeguarding habitat, biodiversity and wilderness, and building sustainable communities.
