BAYarts' Moondance goes green

BAYarts' Moondance fundraising event has become a Westside tradition, attracting about 1,000 guests each fall. Each year the same team of devoted volunteers fall into place to create what many call "the party of the year" for good reason. 

But imagine the amount of waste a party this size generates. Each year the clean-up committee is faced with the overwhelming sight of overflowing trash bins and everything is mixed together: food, plastic and decorations. Even though BAYarts has a recycling system set up for day to day operations, this one event undermined their efforts.

"Last year was a real wake up call," said BAYarts' Executive Director Nancy Heaton, "so we turned to Brenda O'Reilly of Bay Village Green Team who showed us how easy it would be to begin composting."

Starting on a smaller scale, the Green Team was on hand at BAYarts' Annual Art Festival in June, educating volunteers and visitors in the simplicity and ease of composting. Brenda has been working with Moondance event planners to be sure all dishware, utensils and decorations will be compostable. Participating restaurants have been given a check-list of what NOT to bring, but as it turns out, most of the restaurants are already using green materials. 

Compost bins will be supplied by Rosby's, who will then pick them up and deliver to their composting facility. And from here on in, BAYarts will be a zero-waste campus. "Once you are educated in how easy, affordable and practical it is," says Heaton, "it's a no-brainer."