Since 2009, the Encinitas Wine & Food Festival has placed a strong emphasis on recycling and composting. In 2008, the Festival hosted 600 attendees and over 8 cubic yards (almost 3 dumpsters full) of trash that went into the dump. The following year, we had close to 700 attendees, yet we generated less than 5 gallons of trash! We were able to achieve these remarkable results because Festival organizers made reducing waste a top priority.

Each guest was asked to take their uneaten food and drink to our recycling station. Experienced recycling volunteers from Solana Beach Eco Rotary helped guests place their waste in the proper recycling container. Materials like cardboard boxes and glass bottles were transported to recycling centers where it was processed. Volunteers washed plates, cutlery and glasses that we use year after year.

The Wine Festival is now deemed a “zero waste” event. The 2009 Wine Festival was one of the first zero waste fundraisers in San Diego county history. It’s our hope that other events will model themselves after the Encinitas Food & Wine Festival to become more earth-friendly.