Plastic Sandwiches and Drumsticks

When I found out there was going to be a green event at Biz Bash (the yearly special events expo for event and meeting planners) I felt like banging on a drum. Literally.

Fortunately, this turned out not to be a problem.

A group of percussionists were promoting their business at the expo. They would come to your place of business and lead you in some sort of rhythmic activity. It seemed like it was Stomp meets The Office.

They handed out drumsticks to everyone who came by and invited them to play on chairs, drums or whatever was in their path. It was fun. It was cool. But I couldn't wait for the green session.

Or so I thought.

It was called "Do You Measure Up? The New Measurement Standards for Green Events." Not the sexiest title, but hey - green measurement standards are my favorite kind of measurement standards.

I arrived early to get the best seat, eager to absorb all of the innovative green concepts.

The head of the conference came in to introduce our speaker and mentioned that because it was a green event, all their presentations would be available as downloads only . . . no paper handouts!

The speaker stepped up to the mic. She was from Wisconsin. "Oh, good" I thought. Wisconsin must be green, with all its mountains and cheese.

Then she began speaking. In initials. CMP. MPI. ISES. These were the certifications and organizations for event planners.

I began to get twitchy in my seat. This was not interesting. What about the measurement standards?

"Event planners all over the world are moving towards greener events."

Yes! Here we go.

She said London's Olympics would be the greenest ever. Canada was creating an official green certification process for event planners. And the U.S. was doing . . . nothing.

She then thanked us and left the stage.

That was it? The greenest thing I had experienced since getting there was the carpet.

I moved on to the showroom which was filled with caterers, florists, and entertainers. There had to be something green in there.

The first caterer I stumbled upon was the DJ Caterer. This was a guy who played music while serving BBQ pork sandwiches on non-recyclable CD jewel cases. I gave him credit for his creativity. I hesitated as I took the sandwich and wanted to give it back when I realized how wasteful this was going to be, but I had already touched it. So I took the jewel case and tucked it in my bag and recycled it when I got home.

Lunch was next. A plastic container had a sandwich wrapped in plastic, plastic forks wrapped in more plastic and several plastic condiment packets. I don't know which had more plastic, the sandwiches at lunch or the sandwiches on the DJ's CD boxes.

As lunch ended, I watched as all this plastic was being thrown away. Trash cans full of brochures, lunches, food. It was their own mini-landfill.

To take a break from it all, I went back to the percussionists. They were a great group and a lot of fun.

After they gave you the drumsticks, you could keep them as souvenirs. Or you could throw them in the trash. Which is where I saw them. Dozens! Drumsticks that could have been left for others or donated to someone who wanted them. But these drumsticks had been tossed aside like . . . toothpicks.

My head was spinning and I started to see spots. Not green ones. These planners were all buying into this wasteful culture.

I left feeling disappointed. But rather than be defeated, I went back to the office (with my drumsticks) and started pounding out my own plan. To reduce waste, incorporate recycling and bring green awareness to our events.

I realized that you don't need a green measurement standard event to go green. It would have been nice, but if you use a little creativity, like DJ Wasteful Plastic and Pork did, you can always measure up.