Recycle on the Go Success St
King County's Marymoor Park Turns Up
The Volume on Recycling
Marymoor Park in Redmond, Washington, has launched an innovative recycling program at its summer concert
series. About half the waste produced by vendors and concertgoers was recycled in 2007, and organizers are
shooting for 75 percent for 2008. Marymoor officials are confident they can hit their mark by improving signage,
mandating some compostable materials, and attracting a few more well-trained volunteers.
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Marymoor Park averages
15 concerts every summer,
attracting enthusiastic
crowds such as this one.
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Program Overview
Marymoor Park is a popular venue among residents of King County. In fact, with some
3 million visitors annually, the 640-acre park in Redmond is the most visited site in the
county's park system. Marymoor became even more popular in 2007 when the King
County Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) and radio station KMTT
partnered to transform the Marymoor Summer Concert Series into a carbon-neutral event.
In 2007 the series featured bands UB40, Wilco, 311, and comedian Brian Regan, as well
as other nationally known performers.
An average of 15 concerts are held here every year, June through mid-September. The
concert venue has a seating capacity of 5,000, and average attendance for each show is
about 3,000. Mainly because food and beverages are sold at the concerts and visitors are
encouraged to bring picnic food, a significant amount of waste is created. In addition,
large company meetings, community festivals, and church picnics are held on the venue
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grounds—up to five per year with 2,000-5,000 attendees each—generating many empty
cans, bottles, and other recyclables.
Clearly there was a recycling opportunity at Marymoor. Radio station KMTT got the ball
rolling when it decided to promote the concert series as carbon-neutral (achieving a net
release of zero carbon dioxide emissions). The county ultimately initiated the recycling
program in 2007 as part of the carbon-neutral theme.
DNRP's Solid Waste Division hired Wilder Environmental Consulting to set up the
program. Waste Management, a private waste hauler, already provided local recycling and
food waste composting services to Redmond-area residents and merchants, and it was
easily contracted to provide the receptacles and hauling services. Local business Cedar
Grove Composting accepts the organic materials and composts them.
Consensus for a cost-effective program was achieved through close cooperation of all
stakeholders. DNRP leaders, with full support from King County Executive Ron Sims, met
with KMTT to develop the carbon-neutral concert series. KMTT promoted the concerts
and highlighted the recycling program through radio announcements and its Web site
in 2007.
Premier Properties, the food vendor coordinator, also plays a role. The company manages
the Clise Mansion at Marymoor Park, which hosts the hospitality area. In 2007, Premier
Properties encouraged vendors to participate in the program, and in 2008, participation is
strong. Vendors are requested to use food service items such as plates, utensils, and cups
made from compostable materials that are accepted by the local composting company.
Vendors also recycle onsite.
Nuts and Bolts
Marymoor's recycling program accepts plastic bottles,
aluminum cans, glass, and food waste. Vendors are
responsible for recycling in concession areas, while concert
attendees and visitors are encouraged to recycle in the
venue and parking areas (only bottles and cans in the
latter). Park employees are responsible for recycling bottles,
cans, and paper in administrative areas.
Equipment and Infrastructure. Marymoor Park orders
twenty-four 96-gallon compost toters and fifteen 96-gallon
recycling toters to have on hand for the recycling program.
Three recycling stations are set up within the venue.
Staff members empty the blue recycling toters into six
2-yard containers, while compost toters are left in a
designated area for Waste Management to handle the next
business day.
Aside from the recycling and composting bins, Marymoor has no recycling equipment or
infrastructure onsite. Receptacles are stored and serviced by the waste hauler in an open
area behind the concert venue and near the food vendors. This area is approximately
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50 feet square, and large trucks can access it through a paved driveway with a
turnaround space.
Staffing. Staffing for the Marymoor recycling program comes from all corners: DNRP staff
members collect some material, food vendors collect material in the concession area, and
volunteers collect most of the materials generated by the guests. During and after concerts,
park staffers and volunteers pick up litter and pull full bags of garbage out of cans and
re-line them. If the litter is identifiable as recyclable, it is placed in the proper bin.
After being trained by the recycling program
consultant, most vendors now use recyclable and
compostable food service items and place food
scraps and compostables in the containers provided.
Vendors also recycle cardboard, plastic, aluminum,
and glass.
To help collect the recyclables, DNRP enlists the
services of volunteers through the King County
Master Recycler Composter (MRC) program and
from the public. As part of its commitment to
reducing waste generated in the region, King County
runs the MRC program as one way to educate
residents about waste reduction and recycling. Open
to county residents, the program provides 40 hours
of free training on the subjects of waste prevention,
recycling, and home composting.
A volunteer, left, explains to a guest that his beer
cup is compostable. Signs hung above bins help
visitors locate recycling stations.
Volunteers are trained onsite through a simple orientation to Marymoor and its particular
program and processes. The volunteer recyclers then are stationed at various points around
the venue to oversee use of the three types of receptacles: for composting, recyclables, and
garbage. The volunteers assist park patrons in identifying the proper receptacles for the
waste they are disposing, answer questions about recycling and composting, and assist with
cleanup during and after the concerts.
Collection Process. Ideally, a work shift consists of
four volunteers, and shifts last three hours. There
are two to three shifts per concert, depending on its
length. Collection is done both during and after a
concert. The bags of recyclables are moved in toters,
which are corralled for pickup behind the concert
venue. The waste hauler empties the carts and
containers and delivers the organic materials to the
Cedar Grove Composting site. The noncompostable
materials are taken elsewhere for recycling.
Educational Efforts/Public Outreach. Marymoor
informs park guests and concertgoers about the
recycling program through radio spots, newspaper
articles, Web sites, and onsite signage. KMTT
features articles on its Web site, as do all the King
Volunteer Rina Fa'amoe checks to make sure
an item is compostable before putting it in the
appropriate bin.
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County divisions involved in the program. The newspaper and Web news articles proved
the most effective of all the approaches, according to DNRP official Norah Gaynor, mainly
because the articles were prominently placed and long enough to tell the whole story of the
recycling program.
Costs and Benefits
DNRP evaluates the recycling program's results by reviewing the volumes collected
and assessing volunteer suggestions and comments, staff input, and public and media
response. DNRP staffers determine the amount of material collected by counting the
containers and visually estimating the volumes. Results for 2007 show that Marymoor
reduced the amount of waste taken to the landfill from its concert series by 50 percent over
previous years.
The costs incurred for setting up and maintaining the program include DNRP staff time
of about 200 hours, recycling and composting bin rental and servicing, and signage.
Marymoor rents the 96-gallon toters and 2-yard containers. All receptacles are serviced
after each event at an additional cost. Volunteer recruitment also incurs some costs.
For signage, Marymoor produced its materials
in house using a color printer, and laminated
50 signs. The park would have preferred more
professional signs, and future costs in this area
remain to be determined as Marymoor explores
that option and considers more and different
signs. The recycling service charges increased
the total expenditure for waste disposal for
the concert season. (The park does not receive
payment for any of the recyclables, nor does
it currently have commercial sponsorship,
such as from product distributors or beverage
companies, to help fund the program.)
~ Food
Compost
Food scraps and
Food-soiled paper
Compostable Cups - (ask attendant)
Gaynor says the program is a success because
of the number of people DNRP reaches with its
recycling message—in person and via the media.
"Recycling and the environment are strongly
embraced values among many people in King
County," she says. "The conscientious staff and
volunteers want to increase the numbers just for
the sake of more and better recycling."
The department received positive comments
from guests at the concerts and several favorable
news articles in the print, radio, and online press. Some 40,000 concertgoers were
exposed to public place recycling and had the opportunity to interact with local, trained
recycling volunteers.
WO: plastics,
metal or glass
Does you
"compostable"
on the bottom?
This "Food Compost"
sign directs concertgoers
to the correct bin for
their uneaten food,
compostable cups and
plates, and related items
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Challenges and Solutions
Challenge: The recycling rate—50 percent in 2007—is
successful, but Marymoor hopes to do even
better.
Solution: The park will increase staffing after concerts
to sort litter picked up after guests leave
the venue, improve signage at recycling
stations and at the venue entrance, make
informational announcements before shows
and during breaks on the public address
system, provide better lighting at recycling
stations for late evening shows, and monitor
vendor recycling more during shows.
Challenge: Concertgoers, staff, and volunteers had
difficulty distinguishing collected materials.
Cups, plates, and other items were made
from a corn-based material and should have
been collected for composting, but much of
it was placed in the recycling or trash bins.
Solution: Marymoor will encourage vendors to
increase use of food service items such as
plates, utensils, and cups made from compostable materials that are accepted
by the local composting company. Also, Marymoor will continue to educate
concertgoers to place compostable materials in the appropriate bins.
Challenge: Providing ample staff and volunteers during and after shows is a challenge.
Solution: Marymoor plans to embark on an incentive program to gain more help.
This could involve offering free concert admission in exchange for volunteer
service. Most new volunteers are not expected to come with MRC training.
Instead, the park hopes to increase volunteer recruitment through more
public outreach efforts.
In the Future
Marymoor set an ambitious goal of recycling 75 percent of all materials in 2008, up from
50 percent in 2007. Because the venue hosts many ethnically themed events, Marymoor
plans to have language-specific signage when appropriate. Also, universal signage, using
graphics rather than words, might be helpful, organizers believe. "With signs, you really
need to know your audience," says Gaynor.
The recycling program also could use more volunteers, Gaynor says, though this should
not be that great an obstacle. The concert performers typically are well known, and by
offering free admission, Marymoor should be able to attract more help, she says.
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• 15 concerts are held
every year, with average
attendance of 3,000.
• 40,000 concertgoers were
exposed to messages about
recycling and composting
in 2007.
More than 100 cubic yards
of waste was diverted from
landfills in 2007.
Marymoor aims to achieve
a 75 percent recycling rate
in 2008.
Reasons for Success
Gaynor attributes Marymoor's recycling success to the sheer number of people reached
with the recycling message through the concert series and associated media outreach.
Those efforts build on the strong environmental consciousness of King County residents
and have cut the amount of waste going to landfills from the concert venue by at least 50
percent, she says.
More Information
For more information, visit Marymoor Park's Web site at www.metrokc.gov/parks/marymoor
or contact Norah Gaynor, program manager at Marymoor Park, at 206-296-0673 or
Norah.Gaynor@kingcountv.gov.
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA53OF-08-001
September 2008
www.epa.gov/recycleonthego
.ecycled/Recyclable - Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% Postconsumer,
Process Chlorine Free Recycled Paper
Disclaimer: The mention of any company, product, or process in this publication does
not constitute or imply endorsement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
EPA is partnering with
federal agencies, states,
municipalities, and
organizations to promote
recycling in public places.
www.epa.gov/recycleonthego
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