Top festivals go green in Pontiac, Mt. Clemens and Detroit

The bigger the party usually means the bigger the mess to clean up afterwards, but a number of major festivals in Metro Detroit are working to downsize that trash pile by adopting more sustainable practices.

The three festivals still left this summer are the Dally in the Alley in Detroit, Arts, Beats & Eats in Pontiac and the Bath City Festival in Mt. Clemens.

Arts, Beats & Eats, which has a goal of 100 percent sustainability, is mandating all its vendors use plates, cups and garbage bags made from biodegradable materials. There will also be 75 recycling containers throughout downtown Pontiac. The festival is also working with SMART to bus more people to and from it.

Organizers also drastically decreased the number of programs this year from 75,000 to 2,000 to save paper. Also, all children’s arts & crafts will be made with recycled materials.

The Bath City Festival, which celebrates the mineral bath era of Mount Clemens, is also taking a number of steps toward sustainability. For instance, it is recycling waste on site and encouraging more forms to be filled out online to reduce paper and energy consumption.

It is also cutting down the number of printed brochures by 33 percent and partnering with SMART to bus more attendees to and from it. Organizers also created a children’s art project called Replay that recycles thrown away materials.

Detroit's Dally in the Alley, a long-time hipster favorite, is also working toward putting on a green event. Organizers are working with Recycle Detroit to recycle at least 50 percent of the festival's waste. It will have 25 recycling stations throughout the Midtown festival site.

Source: Arts, Beats & Eats; Bath City Festival and Dally in the Alley
Writer: Jon Zemke

Top festivals go green in Pontiac, Mt. Clemens and Detroit

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