BAYarts Moondance: a zero-waste event

Roughly 95 percent of the waste generated at Moondance was recycled or composted. Photo by Lori Kubiak

Why were there no garbage cans at BAYarts' annual Moondance fundraiser on Sept. 8? Because attendees were participating in a zero-waste event.

"Everything [guests] use to enjoy the evening was composted by Rust Belt Riders," says BAYarts' special events coordinator Diana Brewer. "From the food to the plates, napkins and forks. We work with all of the restaurant vendors to encourage they bring nothing that isn't in those parameters. People really get on board."

As soon as someone placed their empty plate on a table, the trained staff was there to take the refuse and sort it into the proper piles of what is compostable or recyclable.

For those who had questions during the event, they could talk to the point people manning the two large stations where items were sorted. This was led by Amy Coursen and Kathy Boehnlein of the Bay Village Green Team.

"I think this sort of thing is the way events should be run, and it's more and more the cultural norm," said Coursen, who also teaches ceramics at BAYarts.

The results were impressive, with only six bags of landfill trash generated by the 1,000 guests enjoying food and drink from more than 15 local restaurants and breweries at the event.

"A small household does that much trash in no time," explained Coursen. "The fact we can get the amount of trash down to such a small amount is amazing. We're diverting about 95 percent of the Moondance refuse from being in a landfill. And landfills are expensive and terrible for the planet. They also cost taxpayers a lot. So it makes a lot of sense both economically and environmentally to compost and recycle as much as possible."

Having a strong connection to the BAYarts campus in the Metroparks also encourages Coursen as she helps with events like Moondance. "It suits the space, to focus on this. Most of the furniture on the porches are even upcycled. It's the spirit of the whole campus. BAYarts is one of the places on the Westside that really embraces this culture of caring for the environment and their waste."

"This is our fifth year of doing zero waste at Moondance, and I am passionate about educating people why we do it," added Brewer.