MONROE — The Evergreen State Fair wants to be the greenest fair in the country.
This year, organizers have their sights set on keeping 90 tons of waste from going to the landfill through an amped up recycling and composting program during the 12-day event. It started Thursday and continues through Labor Day.
The fair in Monroe has long been one of Snohomish County’s biggest garbage generators, sending more than 200 tons of refuse to dumping grounds each year. Now, organizers want to become a model of sustainability for fairs and other large events.
“We’re trying to get as green as possible,” fair marketing specialist Troy Kleine said.
The county, which runs the fair, started the effort in 2014. As a result, 40 tons of trash were recycled or composted instead of piling into the landfill last year.
Having less trash to haul away saved the county about $10,000 in fairgrounds operating costs last year, Fair Manager Hal Gausman said. This year more money could be saved.
Almost 100 recycling and composting stations will be available around the grounds so fairgoers can separate their trash. The county is touting the 2015 fair as the only one in the state to have all of its food vendors using compostable containers.
“We discovered that there was only one other small fair in California that’s doing this,” Gausman said. “It’s going to be an amazing change.”
In the future, he hopes to have a worm composting bin on display to help educate fairgoers.
Recycling mascot, “Chuck,” the can, and his yet-to-be-named composting counterpart — a red pepper — will be roving around the fairgrounds, encouraging people to take part in the waste-reduction effort.
By 2017, the county hopes to divert most of the fairground’s refuse to recycling or composting.
Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @AmyNileReports.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
