Approximately 20 000 people attend Grand Kadooment alone. If everyone used at least one cup, that equates to 20 000 cups at one event!
Ever wondered what happens to the cup you throw ‘away’ during the day or ever thought about the plethora of used bottles and where they go?
Here are some tips to be more conscious and responsible this Crop Over Season.
For the event/band organizer:
Look into mobile water stations such as those from Eco Pure Inc (Bring Your One Bottle) which have been used at some events in recent times
Remember to communicate any changes to patrons before the event. Let them know what to expect and why you are making this change.
For the event patron
Street vendors:
When the party dun:
Get rewards for your sustainability efforts
Through Oceanic Global, The Oceanic Standard Barbados Edition was launched in collaboration with Sustainable Caribbean. This is an international set of free industry-specific guides for adopting sustainable practices that meet both business and environmental needs.
Four tiers of verification have been developed to recognize businesses that advocate for sustainability within their industry:
1) Plastic-Free: Awarded to TOS partner venues that eliminate single-use plastics throughout their operations.
2) Ocean Champion: Awarded to TOS partner venues that implement six types of sustainable practices. This could range from reducing single-use plastics to composting and recycling.
3) Sustainability Steward: Awarded to TOS partner venues that implement three types of sustainable practices. This could range from reducing single-use plastics to composting and recycling.
4) Straw-Free: Awarded to TOS partner venues that eliminate single-use plastic straws.
Tipsy (Twisted Entertainment) was the first event in Barbados to be awarded one of the badges for their efforts for their upcoming event this weekend: Ocean Champion since they made the socially responsible decision to utilise branded cups, cloth bands, did not distribute straws at their events and have removed many single use plastics.
Mix Nutz has also been awarded Ocean Champion and use a mobile water station as well as an irrigation system for paint at their party in May. Also recycled bottles.
WKD Beach Lofts, Copa and Eco Lodge are some of the leaders in sustainability and are being rewarded for this. Some other big names will hopefully come on board soon.
Drink and party more responsibly has another meaning to it.
If you know of a band, event, venue, hotel or restaurant that has taken steps towards becoming more sustainable, please email me at info@sustainable-caribbean.com.
Next week, we will discuss Waste Management and Recycling.
