Telluride Bluegrass Festival (Serviceware)

TELLURIDE BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL DEBUTS COMPOSTABLE SERVICEWARE

Event
Planet Bluegrass, host of the annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Telluride Colo., made a huge impression on their guests by serving an estimated 41,000 meals with cups and serviceware made from NatureWorks® polymer. The serviceware debuted at the June 2004 festival and was used exclusively during the five-day event.

Challenge
Demonstrate the effectiveness of using compostable serviceware during a high-traffic event. Educate festival attendees about the serviceware from NatureWorks polymer and promote composting to ensure proper disposal.

Solution
NatureWorks LLC and its communications team worked closely with the festival organizers to provide educational and promotional support for products made from NatureWorks polymer at the festival, as well as create industry awareness of the program.

Planet Bluegrass placed signage, provided by NatureWorks LLC, throughout the festival grounds to make attendees aware of the serviceware.
Disposal bins labeled "compost" were placed at several locations throughout the event to allow for easy disposal and prevent cross-contamination of materials.
NatureWorks LLC conducted a media relations campaign to raise awareness of the festival's waste management efforts throughout the local community. A news release was also distributed to select trade media.

Results

After the festival, 49 percent of the waste was either composted or recycled. This was a 20 percent increase compared with the previous year. Additionally, the local industrial compost facility reported no cross-contamination of materials from the event and was able to properly dispose of all waste collected from the compost bins. In the future, Planet Bluegrass will feature serviceware made from NatureWorks polymer at all six of its music festivals throughout the year.

Local consumer press, such as the Telluride Daily Planet featured the use of NatureWorks polymer at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, as did several target trade publications, such as Biocycle, Canadian Plastics and Packaging World.