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Las Cruces Gala bumps up local Zero Waste efforts

“To make Zero Waste event recycling a reality, all you need is one person on the planning committee who is committed to recycling,” says Dael Goodman. She was that planning committee person for this year’s Southwest Environmental Center (SWEC) annual Gala “A Wild Night for Wildlife.”

As more than 300 attendees poured into the Plaza de Las Cruces on a beautiful October evening, they were greeted with SWEC volunteers ready to assist at every turn, nine local restaurant booths overflowing with amazing food (with vegetarian and vegan options), non-stop onstage entertainment, wine and beer providers and servers, and plentiful well-marked clearstream bins for recycling, compost, and trash.

“Event recycling is important at every event,” noted Kevin Bixby, SWEC Executive Director. “We hope to be a model for our community as we head away from disposable products and toward Zero Waste. Tonight’s 21st annual SWEC Gala fundraiser is providing reusable, washable glass plates, we are serving wine in real stemmed glassware, and you will be eating with real cutlery and have cloth napkins. Yes, it all must be washed; but we are avoiding single use disposable plates, cups and plastic glasses that waste resources and clog landfills in the name of ‘convenience’.”

Before the event, Goodman met with South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA) Recycling Coordinator Tarkeysha Burton to get “best practices” ideas for event recycling. After the event Goodman collected the empty wine bottles to drop them off at one of the two SCSWA glass recycling drop off sites, and reported collecting about 20 pounds of plastic for recycling, noting, “I used a large plastic bucket with approximately 4 gallons of water to rinse the plastic cups and aluminum cans before putting them in a recycling bin, and then reused the water on our home compost.”

Goodman noted SWEC will be able to reuse seven of the clearstream bags, as they were easily rinsed and hung out to dry in her garden. And she already has ideas for next year’s SWEC Gala that will make the Zero Waste effort even stronger. She adds with a grin, "The goal of this Zero Waste event was to take one more step toward Zero Waste. And we did it with the help of all of you!"

Green Connections is submitted by the South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA) managing solid waste, recyclables, and working to stop illegal dumping for residents and businesses throughout Doña Ana County. Contact the SCSWA at (575) 528-3800 or visit www.SCSWA.net.