The brouhaha in Vancouver over the annual 4/20 event and cost to that city is a reminder festivals, as much as we enjoy them, are hard on the environment. But what if we could hold a big event with a small ecological footprint?
That is Port Moody's plan as the city is looking at requiring events to be sustainable.
The new policy for special events would require food to be served on compostable dinnerware and not styrofoam, discourage single-use items such as flyers, straws and signage, and make water bottle-filling stations a standard item.
As well, waste would be sorted and food composted, and the plan is to even ban helium-filled balloons while festival-goers would be asked to walk or take transit and generators would be discouraged.
Many of these small, planet-saving gestures are already used at festivals so it doesn't seem like too much of a stretch to make them a requirement in Port Moody.
A single straw or styrofoam container won't destroy the planet but, at big events, they do add up and every little bit we do can make a difference.
