How to unleash your strength as a green volunteer?
- Assist in the implementation of green measures set by the event organizer.
- Share green messages with event participants and encourage them to support.
- Practice personal green habits when assisting activities.
- Take the initiative to make green suggestions to the event organizer.
- Offer your opinions to the event organizer after the event will help enhance the environmental achievements of future events.
GREEN EVENT PERSONALLY?
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The organizer has no green measures, what can I do as a volunteer?
You can take the initiative to offer green suggestions to the event organizer. There are a lot of considerations when organizing an event. Don’t be discouraged if the organizer is unable to accept your suggestions immediately.
You can always encourage participants and other volunteers to “take your litters away” and do proper recycling. Here are a few tips:
- Observe whether there are built recycling facilities in the venue or nearby, and make good use of them.
- It is inevitable that there will be waste generated in all parts of events (such as material packaging, surplus gifts, beverage/ food packaging, etc.). In fact, many of them can be recycled. You can separate the recyclables and take them to nearby recycling bins.
- Just do your best, bring your reusable bottles, utensils and handkerchiefs to reduce unnecessary use of disposables.
Before Registration
- Support activities/ organizers that are willing to fulfill their environmental responsibilities.
- Use the online registration form to reduce paper usage.
- Decline the commemorative T-shirts or souvenirs if you do not need it, or plan in advance whom you can give it to.
Before Departure
- Go through carefully all green measures of the event.
- You can bring the following items with you:
- Towels
- Reusable water cup / water bottle / water pouch
- Reusable utensils / food container (if food is provided)
- Reusable gear check bag (if you need to store your luggage)
- Waterproof windbreaker (to replace disposable rain poncho)
- Have a clear understanding of your post, objectives and work procedures.
Event Day
- Utilize the equipment that you brought!
- Take what you need, don’t take souvenirs, don’t take food that you can’t eat.
- Recycle whenever possible to prevent plastic bottles or other recyclables from ending up in landfills.
- Support clean recycling, empty it before recycling.
- Choose mass transportation instead of driving to the venue.
- Try your best to achieve the event’s green goals and never give up!
Support Green Living Everyday
- Follow the principle of zero waste, avoid using disposable items
- Rational consumption
- Sharing resources/ surplus
- Equip yourself with more green knowledges
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My role is to assist in organizing events. Are there any green measures I can refer to?
Our Start Planning ”My Green Event” service can help you. Just enter the basic information of your event, a Green Event proposal with suggestions addressing your needs will be generated.
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I need to find some green service providers, where can I find them?
Our Green Event Procurement Search Engine can help you. You can search for the “Green Events” product/ service providers that you need, so you may achieve different environmental goals of your event. This search engine platform includes event venues, catering service providers, recycling facilities, event planning, and production agencies.
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Participants seem to ignore our recycling facilities, what should we do?
Don’t be discouraged. Fine-tune the way of promoting green messages, such as broadcasting these messages and adjusting the location of recycling bins and trash bins. Hopefully, an eco-friendly atmosphere can be gradually established.
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Requiring all volunteers to bring their utensils, water bottles, and towels sounds like a bit of a hassle.
Environmental protection needs perseverance, and we believe your resolution has brought you here.
According to Environmental Protection Department’s 2020 figures, up to 266 tonnes of plastic disposable utensils (or more than 53 million pieces), are being dumped in landfills every day. These utensils have been used for only 30 minutes, but they are going to take hundreds of years to decompose.
Everyone needs to take a step further for saving the Earth and do as much as we can. Don’t forget to inspire other volunteers around you!
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I’m standing right next to the recycling bins, will it make any difference?
Absolutely yes! Participants tend to neglect recycling and are often clueless on the location of the recycling bins. Your responsibility is not to clean up the garbage for the participants, but to use your sincerity and communication technique to encourage participants to recycle whenever possible and teach them proper ways of recycling.
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I don’t even know what is recyclable.
No worry! Take a look at our “Can it be recycled?” Index of Recyclable Items . If the index does not include the type of material you have in mind, please email us so that we can continue to improve the index.
GREEN EVENT COMMON SENSE
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Don’t preach to me about environmental protection, tell the kids!
What if the kids reply, “It’s none of my business, tell my parents!”? We all have an equally important role in environmental protection.
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Paper cups and paper plates are all made of paper, just put them in the paper recycling bin?
Most of the ”paper” cups and ”paper” plates in the market are not 100% made of paper. They usually contain a layer of waterproof wax or plastic film. These materials must be separated from the paper before recycling, and only specialized recyclers can handle them with extra cost. Therefore, even if you only had a sip of water, used paper cups are often classified as general garbage for landfilling. It is better to reduce the use of single-use cups and look for green alternatives.
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Just throw orange peels in countryside! It will decompose naturally, won't it?
A piece of orange peel can take up to two years to get completely decomposed! Apple cores, banana peels, corncobs… will attract flies, insects, and bacteria. The countryside is full of tourists. If everyone litters, the countryside will become a messy garbage dump well before the residuals get decomposed!
Looking from an ecological angle, besides the possible presence of pesticides on the peels, there is another risk that germination of exotic plants may affect the local ecology. Therefore, for the sake of hygiene and nature conservation, please do not throw fruit residues on the ground but should dispose of them into the organic waste collection bins or garbage bins.
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Tissue paper decomposes quickly, so it should have little impact on the environment.
Tissue paper is often used for wiping our nose and mouth. Such kind of personal hygiene products are likely to be contaminated with bacteria. Please don’t litter! It is revolting to have our countryside filled with tissue paper.
It is a misconception that tissue paper will decompose quickly, in fact, tissue papers contain long fibers which are difficult to decompose in water. Some of the tissue papers are tear-resistant too and they will take weeks or even months to get decomposed in countryside. Wet wipes are even made of plastic, making them impossible to biodegrade naturally!
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Can biodegradable plastic bags and utensils be recycled?
Biodegradable plastic bags degrade within a specific timeframe. Hence, if these bags are mixed with regular plastic bags in the recycling process, the durability and strength of the end products (recycled plastics) would be significantly reduced, which would affect the products’ quality and sales. Therefore, recyclers do not accept biodegradable plastic bags. Do not put them in recycling bins, they can only be discarded as general waste.
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Since I have to empty the bottle before recycling, I will just pour the remaining into the rubbish bin!
Absolutely no! Rubbish bins are not black holes. Water, soda, and other beverages if being poured into the bins might break the trash bags due to additional weight.
Please be mindful that many cleaners are elders. If the trash bag breaks, cleaners might be splashed with dirty liquids and need to clean up mess on the ground… please don’t let that happen. The correct way is to drain the residue of a bottle in a washroom.
WANT TO CONTRIBUTE
I am an individual and want to be a volunteer
Join us to become a “Green Event Ambassador” for The Green Earth, and work with us to support large-scale events and promote waste reduction and recycling on-site!
I am from a volunteer team and want to provide green training to my teammates
Book a green training dedicated to your volunteer team!