Thousands gathered in John Buckley Square the weekend of September 9th and 10th to enjoy fun activities, delicious dishes, and great tunes at Pittsburg’s Seafood & Music Festival. Judging by the strong attendance numbers and smiles on faces, the festival was a huge success. Another major cause for celebration – this was the most sustainable event the city has ever staged.

“Sustainability is at the heart of what we do at Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery. We work hard every day to increase the value of discarded materials and reduce what goes into the landfill,” said director of external affairs Sal Evola. “When we learned that the City of Pittsburg was prioritizing sustainability when planning the festival, we were even more excited to sign on as a sponsor.”

To reduce the environmental impact of the festival, event planners limited single-use plastics, and only compostable flatware and serving materials were allowed. A special trailer was set up for visitors to refill their reusable water bottles and vendors were required to use aluminum cans for soda. A convenient bike valet station encouraged attendees to cycle to the event instead of driving. Other efforts included reducing festival-related print advertising by 50% and using a triple-stream waste system onsite.

In addition to enjoying the festivities, the MDRR Community Relations Team shared information about why the new organics program will help to reduce our collective carbon footprint. They partnered with Healthy Hearts Institute for a lively cooking demonstration that underscored how keeping food scraps out of the landfill reduces methane emissions and provides soil-enriching compost to California farmers. “This event was a perfect example of how fun and sustainability can go hand in hand,” said Evola.

By Jen Ruppert