Rotary Club Canada Day in North Vancouver
The Green Chair green team helped manage recycling at the Rotary-sponsored Canada Day event in Waterfront Park in North Vancouver. There was a lot of waste generated, however, some vendors such as Off the Wagon Tacos used only compostable dishware which helped to reduce the overall waste.
Almost 67 kg of recyclables were diverted from the landfill between our 3 stations, a truly remarkable accomplishment. Extra special thanks to Brian, Curtis, Carlton and Eunho for staying late to help us clean up the park! Thank you to the Lions Gate Rotary for hosting the event and having us.
Dancing Tugboats Exhibition
Point Grey Fiesta
We did it again! Recycling management at the Point Grey Fiesta. Our recycling heroes came out despite the rain to enjoy the parade, carnival and festivities. We got to meet the Premier of BC, Christy Clark, as well as Mayor Gregor Robertson. We composted a lot of candy apple cores and cotton candy cones! Some of our volunteers were brave enough to go on the roller coasters. Go team!
Earth Day Canada Hometown Heroes Award
Green Chair Events has been recognized as a National Finalist by Earth Day Canada for the Hometown Heroes Award! The nomination recognizes our outstanding contributions to reducing waste and engaging the community, from recycling management at events like the YMCA Healthy Kids Day to Green Team volunteer activities like Keep Vancouver Spectacular. We’re proud to be one of the most effective small businesses in Canada at reducing environmental impact!
Green Team at YMCA Healthy Kids Day
Our crew of recycling heroes once again came out to join us at YMCA-Langara’s Healthy Kids Day. Thousands of visitors, pony rides, a beautiful sunny day, lots of fun. Green Chair Events was an official sponsor of the event. The YMCA wanted to put on an event that was as close to zero waste as possible. We had our recycling stations there and collected a LOT of food waste that would otherwise have been thrown out. Over 100 kilograms! At least 80% of what was normally garbage got recycled. We took leftover food to shelters in the downtown east side. We love our volunteers, and hope many of you can come out to our other events this summer! Hooray for Langara Family YMCA for leading a green path to a sustainable future!
Keep Vancouver Spectacular! – Neighbourhood Clean-up
As part of Keep Vancouver Spectacular, our Green Team got together last Saturday to clean up a much neglected part of the city – the industrial lands south of Marine Drive in Vancouver, where our beautiful warehouse is located. With garbage pickers and trolleys, our team scoured the neighbourhood picking up all kinds of debris. We barely made it to the end of the street before our bags were full of trash! At least we can be sure that it will be disposed of properly, and the trash won’t be leaking pollution into the nearby Fraser River. Special thanks to the girls from Alpha Gamma Delta for pitching in to help us out.
The Saturday Green Team events are open to anyone who wants to be a recycling hero! We meet almost every Saturday throughout the year for volunteer or educational opportunities. If you would like to be part of the Green Team or to volunteer for one of our many events, please drop us a line. We do recycling for community events, neighbourhood cleanups and event decoration, all geared toward reducing waste.
Green Team at the EYA Community Gardens
Our Green Team visited the Environmental Youth Alliance community gardens at Strathcona-Cottonwood on Saturday to learn about community gardening and to help with weeding and planting. Even though it rained many of us came out to take part, and in addition to weeding we planted chick peas, calendula and hollyhock. We had a great time, and we hope to check back in a few weeks to see how our plants are growing!
EYA is doing lots of good work for the community and requires community support to continue. Here is what they have to say:
“Here at EYA we are presently moving forward with a new membership drive and are encouraging individuals to become members. EYA currently receives funding from multiple levels of government, foundations and selected corporations; funding that is uncertain with political shifts and trends. We receive very limited financial support from the communities where we work and members’ donations go a long way in ensuring that we are able to continue our grassroots work.
An EYA membership allows you to help us make a difference by building community and environmental health through an understanding of our connection with our social and physical environments. By being a member you are supporting EYA’s vision, mission, and activities by helping us create a stronger network of EYA supporters. Membership fees start at just $10 and include a free package of Urban Seeds, a subscription to our monthly e-newsletter, discounts to EYA events… like our new fireside chats (hosted around a wood-burning stove, in the winter, in Vancouver… need we say more?) and an invitation to join us at our fun and cozy AGM.”
To find out more about becoming an EYA member please visit our website: http://www.eya.ca/membership.html
Green Team at EPIC Sustainable Living Expo
This year, Green Chair Events played a big role in the Epic Sustainable Living Expo. With the help of 100 awesome volunteers, the Green Team managed the event’s waste and educated visitors on how to separate and recycle their litter. The event brought together over 300 exhibitors showcasing earth friendly products and ideas. The three-day event promoted eco-friendly living and was tons of fun! EPIC is committed to sustainable living.
Green Chair Events also put together the Eco-Wedding showcase, which featured eco-conscious vendors who help make that special day more sustainable. Our Green Team organized a wedding fashion show that ran through the entire event. Great work!
Some of the eco conscious vendors who participated in the wedding showcase were:
Sweet Naturally Bakery, Spark Jewelry, Dave Bryson Photography, Sweet Earth Photographics, Bueno Style, Marie Antoinette, Dandelion Pictures, Pure Magnolia, Shoo-Foo Eco Fashions, Amoda Flowers, Luscious Creations, Olla Flowers.
PoCo May Day 2011 Festival
May 7-8, 2011
Green Chair Events was at hand yet again with it’s team of green attendants to help the City of Port Coquitlam manage recycling for the May Day Parade and Mother’s Day Picnic. In spite of the rain hundreds of people came out to watch the parade and celebrate mothers day, and of course all the recycling was contaminant free thank to our attendants who educated passers-by how to properly separate their waste. Go Team!
Vancouver Sun Run 2011
Sunday April 17 2011
Vancouver Sun Run
Green Chair Events was on site at the Finish Area of the Vancouver Sun Run 2011 to manage recyclable and organic waste. This is the first time the Sun Run has attempted to collect organic waste for compost as well as recycling. Over 60,000 participants were on hand! Here’s a summary of what we accomplished, thanks to the help of all our staff along with an awesome team of volunteers.
• Organic waste collected and composted: 480 kg (7,000 fruit peels)
• Milk containers collected: 54 kg (4,500 containers)
• Juice boxes collected: 50 kg (3,600 containers)
• Total waste diverted from landfill: 584 kg
• Total greenhouse gas savings: 500 kg CO2e
Even better, we didn’t use any plastic bags while on site, all waste was collected in buckets and tipped into our truck to be taken away for proper recycling composting or disposal. Because of our diligent station attendants, we had almost zero contamination in every waste category which is pretty amazing when you think about it.
If you were there and liked what you saw, let us know! And be sure to let the event organizers know if you appreciated it so that they will have recycling again next year!
Jericho Beach Cleanup
This past Saturday the Green Team did our annual Jericho Beach Cleanup. It was a fun filled afternoon of picking up garbage and all sorts of other treasures. We found a wonderful pair of barely worn pumas (hopefully the owner wasn’t just swimming)!
After the Cleanup, we had a Zero Waste Picnic with a stunning view of the water. The potluck was wonderful with everyone bringing their items in reusable containers from home. Instead of disposables, we brought our own plates, cups, utensils & napkins from home. Nothing is better than a “green” picnic on the beach with good friends!
Anyone is welcome at our beach cleanups! If you are interested in receiving information about future cleanups, please email Roberto Cobo, our Waste Management Coordinator at roberto@greenchairevents.com
Why Is It Important? Here is what our friends at Ocean Conservancy had to say:
“When we trash the ocean, we trash our own well-being! Whether we live along the shore or hundreds of miles inland, we are all intimately connected to the ocean. It drives and moderates our climate. It is the ultimate source of much of the water we drink and much of the air we breathe. It directly feeds millions of people. It also absorbs a great deal of the air and water pollution generated by a world population approaching seven billion people. But our ocean is sick, and our actions have made it so.”
“Marine debris kills! Every year, countless marine mammals, sea turtles, seabirds, and other animals are sickened, injured, or killed because of dangerous items we allow into the sea. They are poisoned, choked, or entangled in the trash we leave behind, from leaky paint cans to empty yogurt cups to cast-off fishing line. Trash also poses health threats to humans, contaminates marine environments, and clogs boat propellers.”
“Join forces for a clean, healthy ocean! Trash doesn’t fall from the sky, it falls from human hands. And human hands have the power to stop it. You and your friends, neighbors, family, and colleagues can truly make a difference through this remarkable experience of international camaraderie on behalf of the ocean.”
