Composting Food Packaging at Events (CFPE) is a Council-led initiative created to support the events industry in diverting waste to our local waste facilities. As the name indicates, the focus sits with the food packaging because at large-scale and/or food-focused events most of the waste comes from food packaging or single use items used at events. Therefore the current concept fits best with any large-scale, or food-focused event rather than smaller community events where food is not a big contributor to waste.
At a CFPE event we have the three waste streams available for the public to use - green for organics, yellow for recycling and red for landfill. All food at the event will be served in Council approved compostable packaging so that the food scraps and packaging can all go into the green bin and be composted at the local organics facility in Christchurch. At most of the events we'll also have bin ambassadors at the bin stations to guide and educate the public on which bin the item goes into.
Behind the scenes, the waste management provider sorts through all waste produced at the event (from all waste streams) to maximise the amount of waste diverted and to eliminate any contamination to compost and recycling.
Council's role is to lead project, ensure consistency and make advances along the way. We hold the relationship with the waste facilities, managing approvals of new packaging into the project, training food vendors and supporting event organisers to be more sustainable.