Sustainability pioneer sets goal for diverting 100 percent of show waste.
Now almost 10 years into its sustainability efforts, the Oregon Convention Center has set the ambitious goal of diverting 100 percent of show waste from landfills. The first show in the venue to jump on board the program was the Food Services of America's Universal Food Show, held at the beginning of March, which achieved a close-to-goal 81 percent diversion rate.
While any aggressive plan is a giant step forward in sustainability, Oregon's efforts are full-bore. "Zero waste is essentially doing all the things you can do to have the least amount of landfill-bound waste," says OCC sustainability coordinator Brittin Witzenburg. "This can be accomplished through waste reduction, donating, recycling—getting to the point where all that's going to the landfill is materials that can't go anywhere else..."
