Recommendations on waste minimisation 

Carnival week is an amazing festival of fun where the community has the opportunity to celebrate together. But today, more than ever, we need to think about the way we run these events to protect our environment and minimise waste. 

We have drafted these guidelines to help everyone involved think about reducing, reusing and recycling for a more sustainable carnival. The Carnival committee are grateful for the help being offered by Bracknell Forest Council when it comes to waste and helping make the week an even bigger success. We hope this guidance will help you to consider your approach to waste minimisation and that you will help us identify best practices that can be promoted for future events. 

The Carnival is a major local event and this year the organisers want everyone to do what they can to reduce, reuse and recycle. Thank you for your support.

Crowthorne Carnival Committee 

Carnival floats and procession

• Source materials locally e.g. using the local charity shops, join the Facebook groups like Don’t Dump it – Bracknell, Ascot, Wokingham, Sandhurst, Windsor; ask for donations from parents. The floats provide many opportunities for reusing things that might otherwise have gone directly to waste. Rather than buying new, repurpose old materials. 

• Where possible, avoid single-use plastics in the construction and protection of the float.

• The costumes are a great way to reuse old clothing and material. Look out old clothes and costumes and make them fit. Make the creation process fun and use your creativity to reuse what you have, mixing items and accessories. Let your imagination run wild and promote your waste saving ideas on social media.

• Borrow/swap clothes from friends, rent if time is short but try to avoid buying new.

• Avoid using glitter. It may be attractive and shiny but conventional glitter is made from plastic and is impossible to collect. It literally gets everywhere – even into the air and water systems. 

• When using paper apply the ‘crinkle test to see if its recyclable. Only use paper that can be recycled locally.

• At the end of the procession think about how the waste will be recycled. There will only be limited facilities at the recreation ground. 

NB The judges will be taking into consideration the environmental impact of each entry. 

Food and beverage suppliers

• Check the Bracknell Forest Council website for what can be collected from the local recycling bins and dual litter bins in the village and limit your packaging offer accordingly. (Wokingham and Bracknell Forest councils have the same arrangements).

• Do not sell beverages in bottles or in glass ware.

• Offer alternatives to water sold in plastic bottles.

• Look for alternatives to using single use plastic cups and consider how you can provide your product with this mind. 

• If reusables aren’t possible, then only use packaging and cutlery made from renewable, recycled or sustainably sourced materials e.g. packaging compliant with BS EN 13432 on compostability, recycled plastics, sustainably sourced wood. 

• Compostable plastics must NOT go in the local recycling bins so please DO NOT USE them unless you have the means to collect them and recycle them after use. 

• If you really need to provide drinking straws then make sure they are recyclable ones.

• Polystyrene food containers should not be used – there are paper alternatives Look for what can be recycled locally. You can minimise waste by just selling food wrapped in a simple paper napkin for example. 

• Where food sauces/condiments are provided ideally offer them from bigger bulk dispensing bottles and make sure the empties are sent for recycling after use.

• Avoid providing sugar, salt, pepper, sauces in sachets if you can. It is just a waste of packaging and create a local littering problem around your stall for you to clear up later.

• Try to avoid using cling film - use plastic containers with lids as an alternative

• If you are providing hot drinks then ask yourself is a plastic lid really necessary?

• Help manage responsible waste collection on the day by providing your own clearly marked bins for recycling and landfill waste

• Don’t waste unused food at the end of the event – have a plan for what to do with leftovers.

Non-food Stall holders

• If you need to provide bags for customers please either reuse old plastic bags or better offer paper carrier bags.

• Have a plan in advance for what to do with any unsold goods in a sustainable way

Prizes

• Each year the UK imports tonnes of plastic ‘trinkets’ to be used as prizes or novelty gifts. These have limited ‘life’ and end up in landfill taking hundreds of years to decay. Look for local, sustainable alternatives.

Waste arrangements on the day of the procession

• We will be providing green bins for land fill and blue bins for recycling waste. Please direct customers to these bins.

• Commercial organisations are liable for their own waste arrangements. No provision is made on site to dispose of commercial waste.

• Every effort is being made to minimise the amount of festival related waste going to landfill and all parties are asked to do all they can to help support and promote this aim.

• Stallholders will be responsible for keeping their stall areas clean and collecting their own litter and rubbish. After the event stallholders will be responsible for leaving the site clean and tidy and the lawful disposal of the associated waste.

Advice on local recycling and waste disposal options

• Do not get fooled by false recycling claims on products and materials. Materials can only be recycled if there is an outlet for their collection

• Crowthorne residents have their waste collected by either Bracknell Forest or Wokingham Council. Check their web sites to make sure that you are using the kerbside facilities correctly.

• Details of what can be taken by whom and when to the local recycling centres in Bracknell and Reading can be found at re3.fccenvironment.co.uk/site-facilities/

Feedback

• If you have any comments or ideas you would like to share then please email us.

Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash