The District’s first special event to pursue a goal of zero waste* yielded positive results. The April 30, 2016 Kingman Island Bluegrass and Folk Festival, the largest local music festival in the National Capital Region, attracted more than 12,000 fans who followed the guidelines to dispose of their food waste, trash and recyclables. Their efforts led to a 50% diversion rate, which now is the baseline against which future special events will be compared.

The Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE), the Department of Public Works (DPW), and volunteer coordination by event host Living Classrooms provided guidance while volunteers from the Sierra Club staffed the waste stations.

“We really appreciate how conscientious the attendees were and the role volunteers with the Sierra Club played to steer everyone to the correct waste bin,” said Department of Public Works Director Christopher J. Shorter. “Thanks to their attention to detail, all the food waste sent to the Prince George’s Western Branch Yard Waste Composting Facility was accepted.”

“The Festival plays an important role in giving residents from across the region the chance to enjoy and marvel at the amazing Anacostia River at Kingman Island,” said DOEE Director Tommy Wells. “DOEE supports this event as a unique opportunity to explore local habitats and wildlife along the river, and to learn what the District is doing to protect these critical natural resources.” With DOEE’s support, the festival has become a major entertainment as well as environmental awareness event.

Through pursuit of this goal, the festival provided a great opportunity to educate 12,000 festival attendees on how to properly recycle and compost and on the benefits of reducing waste. Preparation for the festival also provided an opportunity for District agencies and event organizers to understand the planning and logistical support needed to pursue zero waste at large scale events.

While the goal of 80% diversion was not achieved, the festival did divert 50% of the waste generated and the zero waste initiative was positively received by attendees and volunteers, and provided many successes.

Successes include:

• Living Classrooms, the festival organizer, provided attendees with reusable drinking cups, reducing the amount generated.
• Living Classroom required food trucks to use only paper compostable food containers.
• More than 50 Green Team volunteers were stationed throughout the day at zero waste stations, educating attendees and providing assistance to properly sort their materials, which helped reduce contamination.
• Source separated food waste and compostable packaging collected at the festival was accepted by the Prince George’s County Western Branch Yard Waste Composting Facility.
• Approximately 500 pounds of compostables and 1,860 pounds of recyclables were successfully diverted from the waste stream.
• Lessons learned from this year’s planning for metrics, volunteer training, and waste plan implementation will be applied to future festivals and other special events in the District of Columbia.

About the Department of Public Works
The Department of Public Works (DPW) mission is to provide environmentally healthy municipal services that are both ecologically sound and cost effective. DPW provides essential city services in two distinct program areas: environmental services/solid waste management and parking enforcement. Both contribute to making our District streets and public spaces clean, safe, attractive and accessible for all residents, businesses, commuters and visitors. The Kingman Island Bluegrass & Folk Festival will be the first time DPW has provided food waste composting services for a special event.

About the Department of Energy & Environment
The mission of the Department of Energy & Environment is to improve the quality of life for the residents and natural inhabitants of the nation’s capital by protecting and restoring the environment, conserving our natural resources, mitigating pollution, increasing access to clean and renewable energy, and educating the public on ways to secure a sustainable future. The agency’s core responsibilities include, but are not limited to, enforcing environmental regulations; monitoring and assessing environmental risks; developing energy and environmental policies; issuing permits; and providing residents and local businesses with funding, technical assistance, and information on initiatives designed to ensure a more resilient and sustainable city.

About Living Classrooms
Living Classrooms is a non-profit organization which provides outdoor environmental education experiences to public school students in Washington DC and Baltimore, MD as well as on Kingman Island. Living Classrooms Foundation strengthens communities and inspires young people to achieve their potential through hands-on education and job training, using urban, natural, and maritime resources as “living classrooms.”

About Kingman Island
Kingman and Heritage Islands are located in the middle of Anacostia River, which runs through the eastern half of Washington, DC. The islands provide a beautiful area in Washington, DC for people of all ages to learn about the natural environment. For detailed information about the Festival and how to get there, go to http://www.kingmanislandbluegrass.com/bio/. Kingman Island is at 575 Oklahoma Avenue, NE, 20002. It is accessible by streetcar, Metrorail, bike and car.

*DC is required to develop a zero waste plan as a requirement of the Sustainable Solid Waste Management Amendment Act of 2014. The Act defines the target of the zero waste plan as 80% diversion from waste-to-energy and landfill.