Bluesfest Goes Green

RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest Greening Facts

For the past three years, the Ottawa Bluesfest organization has been recognized by the Recycling Council of Ontario with an Award for Waste Minimization'.

In response to the positive feedback from the public for their greening efforts, Bluesfest organizers will continue working with sponsors, specifically Rothsay Biodiesel to maintain specific greening initiatives.

An additional greening tactic for Bluesfest is the use of an innovative recycling receptacle, known as the ClearStream CycleMax. Field studies have proven that the ClearStream is extremely successful in the recovery of recyclable materials and greatly reduces the amount of litter sent to landfill sites. The ClearStream CycleMax utilizes a clear bag that is re-usable. The transparency of the bag discourages contamination by non-recyclable items and allows attendees to appreciate the direct result of their participation in local recycling efforts.

RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest ‘Greening’ Statement

Ottawa Bluesfest is a non-profit, charitable organization that is committed to significantly reducing the source of all on-site waste products and monitoring and improving the collection and management of these products. Bluesfest organizers will strongly encourage all suppliers, partners, and fans of the festival to follow their lead in this endeavour.

GREENING THE FEST

Organizers will also encourage people to bicycle to the event by providing supervised bike parking.

RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest continues to utilize compostable beer cups made from corn. Of the more than 200,000 cups that are used, 99% are separately disposed of without harming the environment.

The festival has an ongoing partnership with Canadian green fuel pioneer Rothsay Biodiesel to use biodiesel fuel to power the festival’s on-site generators.

RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest also has a comprehensive recycling program in place to minimize waste created by the event. And finally , Bluesfest is pleased to announce they will be using environmentally friendly cleaning products throughout the festival site.

To better manage these greening programs, Bluesfest recruits volunteers for its 'Green Team’ to inform patrons on best practices to participate in these initiatives.

“RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest recognizes that everyone has a responsibility to reduce their carbon footprint. By working towards this goal, Bluesfest hopes to lead by example,” says Bluesfest's executive director, Mark Monahan. “Our hope is that this catches on with other events as well.”