PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

Some of the city’s largest spring events will all have something in common this year — a commitment to zero waste. 

The Pennsylvania Resources Council announced this week that it will partner with large-scale events, including the Pittsburgh Marathon, Millvale Music Festival, Walk MS Pittsburgh, Millvale Earth Day and the May Day community celebration of Pittonkatonk, to greatly reduce the amount of waste produced. They’ll all aim to accomplish this goal through a combination of planning, logistics, vendor selection and on-site management.

“Having some of the largest events in Pittsburgh embrace the zero-waste approach speaks volumes about their commitment to sustainability,” said Darren Spielman, executive dDirector of the PRC, in a press release. “These events are also important opportunities to remind people they can strive to be zero waste in their everyday lives.”

Throughout 2022, the council’s Zero Waste Pennsylvania Green Team will assist organizers of dozens of festivals and other events to divert 90% or more material from landfills through a system of reuse, recovery, recycling and composting. In 2019 — the last full year of events prior to the coronavirus pandemic — the PRC’s efforts diverted 57 tons of waste at a combined 31 events. Since its inception in 2009, the Zero Waste program has helped to divert more than 512 tons of material from landfills.

“Reusing, composting and recycling not only preserves the economic and environmental value of the original resource used to create the item but it also creates jobs in recovery and re-manufacturing,” Spielman added. 

Furthermore, diverting waste from landfills helps to protect the land, water and atmosphere from dangerous toxins that can be released upon decay.

Some events, such the Pittsburgh Marathon — which will be held April 30-May 1 — have been going green for years.

“For more than a decade, P3R has partnered with the Pennsylvania Resource Council to make our events greener and achieve our sustainability goals during the DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon weekend of events,” said Troy Schooley, P3R CEO, in a statement.  “Together our efforts have paid off, and since 2015, the Pittsburgh Marathon has been considered a ‘zero waste’ event with 90% or more of waste diverted from the landfill..”

For more information about Zero Waste Pennsylvania, check out its website. It’s also hiring zero waste assistants for upcoming events with a starting pay of $15 per hour. If you want to help turn the city green, you can submit a resume and cover letter to zerowaste@prc.org.