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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2020)
Wednesday, January 1, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 5 Sisters Folk Festival moves toward sustainability By Ceili Cornelius Correspondent Sustainability at events is a rising issue within the United States because of the high volume of people con- centrated in one area, each one producing waste and plastic at a high volume in a short amount of time. The Sisters Folk Festival (SFF) started in 1995 with 12 artists and 200 attend- ees. It has grown to a festi- val with over 50 artists and around 4,000 attendees every year. This year, the organiza- tion implemented a sustain- ability program headed by Operations Manager Dave Ehle and Sustainability Coordinator Odin Wium. Events that sell alcohol, food and other beverages and items are particularly respon- sible for creating a huge amount of plastic waste due to the plastic cups and prod- ucts food and beverage items are served in. Therefore, efforts by organizations and festivals are being made to reduce impact on the environ- ment through sustainability programs. Organizations are pop- ping up all over that pro- mote sustainable, zero-waste events and festivals. Bring Your Own Bottle (BYOB) was created to make events more sustainable and plastic- free, as stated by its website: <The Sustainable Concerts Working Group (SCWG) is a collaboration of music indus- try leaders and environmental advocates who believe in an environmentally responsible and sustainably driven music community.= They have a number of artists and organizations that partner and take the pledge to have festivalgoers and art- ists themselves bring their own water bottle or drinking device to limit the amount of use of plastic water bottles and cups. Having a water bottle with you can greatly reduce the amount of plas- tic water bottles purchased at events. Most festivals and events today have water refill stations for that purpose. The BYOB initiative was taken up by the small-town music festival; SFF partnered with BYOB using social media to promote the use of reusable cups and water bottles. Sustainability Coordinator Odin Wium helped orches- trate initiatives to assist with the festival becoming greener. Wium is a general social science major with an emphasis in environmental studies at the University of Oregon. Wium was hired on the festival staff this year to implement ideas for a sustain- ability program. The definition of sustain- able is debated in academic communities, but as far as events go, according to Wium, it is about <creating a festival format that has little to no impact on the location it takes place at,= he said. Festivals are often known for the area they take place in. <We want to have a tan- gible way to show the impact on the place, and with effec- tive waste management, we can maintain the pristineness of Central Oregon where SFF takes place,= he said. <The idea is a three- to five-year sustainability plan, but we still reduced waste in huge ways in the first year,= he said. The long-term goal for the festival is to become a zero- waste festival in the years to come. In Wium9s mind, educa- tion is the most important fac- tor because policies surround- ing sustainability are always changing. Perhaps the most popular sustainable change at SFF was the elimination of plastic cups for beer at the festival. For the 2019 festival, orga- nizers made it so the only way you could buy a beer was to purchase a 16 oz. stainless steel cup with the SFF logo on it (or bring your own). Each cup was available for purchase for a low price and it was encouraged to be brought to all venues all weekend for beer and wine. They also had a volunteer team dedicated to maintain- ing the policies put in place with disposal of products. <We had a designated green team to help people put the right things in the right disposal bin and orchestrate reduction of waste, and more recycling,= said Ehle. Festivalgoers loved the implementation of the pro- gram. Long-time attendee Helen Michet said she was happy to know that oth- ers would join her in bring- ing their own beverage containers. <Anything we can do to minimize the impact on the environment while also less- ening the cost is something we did with the program this year,= said Ehle. Pickathon, a festival that takes place on a farm Let us show you how much you can save this year! DINING & TAKE-OUT until midnight every night Menu at SistersSaloon.net 541-549-RIBS outside Portland, considers itself a <trash-free festival.= Pickathon is considered the <poster child= for other festi- vals to aspire to be like with their zero-waste programs. Board chair of the Sisters Folk Festival Sue Boettner has volunteered and attended Pickathon for many years. <The festival uses renew- able-energy resources, like solar. They also have bike shuttles from hotels. There was also the option for attend- ees to bring their own dish and bottle for food and drink to further their zero-waste and sustainable model,= said Boettner. Festivalgoers can make themselves aware of the pro- grams and policies of the fes- tival they are attending and carry a backpack or bag that has all your <festivalgoing= things, including a water bot- tle, perhaps a bowl and eating utensils, and a pint cup for a drink. 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