A key element of event greening is waste minimisation and sustainable management. Recognising the importance of this the Event Greening Forum (EGF) KZN Team and friends on Friday, 15 August 2014 visited the Re- head office in Prospection, Durban for a tour of their facilities. Shades of Green Events – heading the EGF KZN Team – organised the site visit.

Re- is a national waste management solutions company that offers their clients innovative solutions to Reduce, Re-use, and Recycle and Recover product to ensure that sound waste management practices are implemented, thereby promoting environmental sustainability. A sustainability solution from Re- means less waste to landfill, less resource consumption and less harmful emissions. Their innovations include composting and biomass engineering of organic material, outlets for raw materials and diversion of suitable materials to animal feed, extraction of product for biofuel manufacturing and use of material as an alternative fuel resource. Re- focuses on the concept of circular economy, nothing wasted, everything repurposed.

Their approach fits within an increasing global trend to reduce, re-use, rework, recycle and recover waste products. One person’s waste can now become another person’s valuable raw material. Considering the cost, and sometimes-limited availability of original input materials the demand for recovered waste products are increasing. Where as basic waste management focuses on removing waste from the living and working areas in an environmentally acceptable fashion (including waste storage, collection, transport and disposal), this new approach promotes sustainability through providing creative waste solutions that divert waste from landfill and truly sees disposal as a last resort.

In terms of event management, this points to the importance of effective planning re waste minimisation and management. Event organisers should aim to minimise waste (i.e. no bottled water); and to thereafter focus on the effective management of waste through for example re-using products (i.e. USB flash drives made from recycled materials or biodegradable materials such as bamboo or printed branding materials that can be re-used), and recycling (i.e. recycling bins to collect paper, plastics and so forth) and arranging for the recovering of waste that cannot be re-used. Again, disposal should remain a last resort.

For more information on how Shades of Green Events can deliver your events in a professional, socially and environmentally responsible way, visit the following link:

Corporate & Social Events – Event Organisers: Event Planning & Event Management:

http://www.shadesofgreenevents.co.za/corporate-events/

For more information on how Shades of Green Events can help with your exhibition stand requirements follow this link:

Custom & System Exhibition Stands – Exhibition Management & Exhibition Stand Builders:

http://www.shadesofgreenevents.co.za/exhibition/