On the heels of a busy spring season — which featured seven events that diverted tons of material from landfills — Pennsylvania Resources Council Green Team members are ready to lessen waste at numerous large-scale events this summer.

In coming months, PRC’s Zero Waste program will partner with numerous events including the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, Northside Music Festival and PedalPGH to achieve waste minimization and diversion via a system that coordinates planning, logistics, vendor selection and on-site management, according to a PRC news release.

At Zero Waste events, PRC staff members serve as ambassadors to educate patrons and assist them with properly sorting waste to maximize diversion. On-site efforts result in diverting tons of material from landfills to become valuable compost and recycled products and create jobs in recovery and remanufacturing.

Summer 2023 PRC Zero Waste events will include:

  • Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, Downtown: Through June 11.
  • Pride Millvale: June 24. 
  • Northside Music Festival: July 14–16. 
  • “Hometown Night” concert at Hartwood Acres, Hampton: July 30.
  • Pittsburgh VegFest, North Side: Aug. 5.
  • Rock, Reggae and Relief, Downtown: Aug. 19.
  • PedalPGH, throughout Pittsburgh: Aug. 27.

“Event organizers work with our PRC team to pursue innovative waste reduction and management practices with an ultimate goal of diverting 90% or more material from landfill through a system of reuse, recovery, recycling and composting,” Chesapeake First, PRC zero waste events coordinator, said in the news release. “Last year, PRC’s Zero Waste efforts diverted 73,000 pounds of waste at 28 events throughout our region.”

According to PRC Executive Director Darren Spielman, “In addition to greening festivals, footraces and fundraisers, PRC offers commercial businesses, institutions and local governments across the state a wide variety of Zero Waste services including technical assistance, audits and analysis. Since launching the Zero Waste program in 2009, PRC has worked to prevent an immeasurable volume of waste from ever being produced and to divert 550 tons of material from landfill and limit the toxicity from discarded products to Pennsylvania’s land, air and water.” 

For more information concerning the Zero Waste program, which includes event services, rental service, audits and analysis, and technical assistance, visit www.prc.org/programs/zwp.  

PRC hiring zero waste assistants for 2023 events

It takes an entire team to “green” large-scale events. PRC is hiring part-time seasonal Zero Waste event assistants to provide in-field support. Current contract opportunities in southwestern Pennsylvania pay $15 an hour and offer flexible scheduling through October.  To view a Green Team job description and apply for the position, visit www.prc.org/careers.

The PUP is the publication of the striking workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Pittsburgh Union Progress

The PUP is the publication of the striking workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.