Food scraps from the Sample food festival will be given to local farmers as part of the event’s plan to halve the amount of waste it produces this year.
Festival organisers have brought in local company Greenfest Solutions to ensure that every opportunity to reuse and recycle is taken.
This includes sorting through the rubbish to extract organic waste that will then be used to feed local farm animals.
‘In general we all need to take more responsibility for how we enjoy life and what we eat and this is a way to do it with a good conscience,’ festival organiser Rose Taylor said.
‘I think events in general – they attract so many people. It’s a great opportunity to help people make the right choices and to get the message out there.’
Sample is also partnering with local packaging company Greenpack, which will provide compostable packaging for all cooking demonstrations and food tasting sessions.
‘You’ve got to be pretty careful with packaging to make sure you get something that’s actually going to break down,’ Ms Taylor said.
‘Some of the biodegradable products can take a very long time to break down, whereas compostable packaging will basically break down in your garden.’
The festival’s drinks provider Stone&Wood will be running a keep cup system again this year, with patrons able to put down a $1 deposit for their own reusable cup.
‘I think it’s just about minimising waste wherever possible,’ Ms Taylor says.
‘You’ve just got to do whatever you can, do your bit as much as possible. There’s such an amazing group of people out there in the local community doing this, all we need to do is to tap into that.’
Sample Food Festival will be held on September 1 from 8am to 4pm at Bangalow Showgrounds.
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