(l-r) Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, Festival Director, Steve Lurie and Zero Waste Coordinator, MJ Wilson at the April 21 Earth Day Award presentation.
Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival, or the Clearwater Festival, has received a 2013 Earth Day Award from Westchester County for its Zero Waste initiatives. The Westchester County “Earth Day Award” presentation took place as part of Westchester County’s Earth Day celebration on Sunday, April 21 at Kensico Dam Plaza, in Valhalla, NY. County Executive Robert P. Astorino presented the county’s annual Earth Day awards for environmental achievements and successful grassroots efforts in school and community programs. MJ Wilson, Zero Waste Coordinator, and Steve Lurie, Clearwater Festival Director, accepted the award on behalf of Clearwater.
The county’s Earth Day celebration also included live music and entertainment with Annie and the Natural Wonder Band and Solar Punch, a free green raffle with prizes, a lawn and gardening Q and A session with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester County, an Earth Day Farmers Market featuring fresh local vendors, and a Green exhibit showcasing practical ways to make your home, school, or business green and healthy.
Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival is the oldest and largest annual environmental celebration in the United States and hosted every June at Westchester County’s Croton Point Park. The Zero Waste program was originally implemented at the 2007 festival, with several stations set up across the park for the separate collection of recyclable containers, food scraps, and trash. In 2011 and 2012 combined, the program successfully diverted 10 tons of food waste to compost.
Since the Zero Waste initiative’s inception, the program continues to grow: In 2010, compost collection was expanded and saved nearly 4.5 tons, or 9,000 pounds, of organic material for composting to enrich the earth and not be dumped as garbage into the waste stream. In 2011 the amount was increased to 9,900 pounds of compostable material recovered. In 2012, the number of collection stations was expanded throughout the site, and the number of Zero Waste volunteers grew, enabling the festival to recover 10,140 lbs. of organic material.
Recycling at the Clearwater Festival has also increased substantially in part thanks to a recent new law in Westchester County: as of 2011, the festival recycles plastics 1 through 7, with some limitations.
This year, the Clearwater Festival will be held on June 15 & 16 at Croton Point Park in Croton-on-Hudson, NY, with over 90 Zero Waste volunteers on hand to help festival-goers sort refuse into various categories. To aid the sorting of waste, vendors at the Clearwater Festival are required to provide food in compostable or recyclable service ware, including paper plates, cups, and utensils. Another Zero Waste effort at the festival includes encouraging the use of reusable water bottles, which are provided to all festival musicians and performers and sold to attendees at the festival merchandise tent.
In keeping true to Clearwater’s grassroots mission, the festival will continue to work to reduce the amount of materials going into the waste stream as we strive towards an absolute Zero Waste festival.
The Clearwater Festival’s efforts toward Zero Waste are supported by the following entities: Westchester County Parks Department, Westchester County Department of Environmental Facilities, Rockland County Solid Waste Management Authority, WeCare Organics, and Suburban Carting.
For more information about the Clearwater Festival’s Zero Waste program, please contact Will Solomon, Assistant Festival Director at FestAssist@Clearwater.org, or call 845 265 8080, x 7158.
Those interested in participating in the Clearwater Festival Zero Waste program can visit the Clearwater Festival website at www.ClearwaterFestival.org to volunteer.
