February 2008

Recycling mandatory at big events in Denton

City passes resolution to help boost conservation, image at major festivals

By Lowell Brown / Staff Writer, Denton Record-Chronicle

Recycling containers will be popping up at many of Denton’s special events starting this summer.

The City Council voted Tuesday to require recycling at special events held on city property and events sponsored by the city, regardless of the location.

The move could add to the cost of staging some events — especially large festivals.

But city officials say it’s needed to reduce waste and promote an environmentally friendly image of Denton.

“When you have a premier event and you have a lot of visitors, you want to show your city off as being clean and green,” said Shirlene Sitton, city recycling manager.

Denton hosts a variety of festivals and other events throughout the year, including the Denton Arts & Jazz Festival, Cinco de Mayo and the Holiday Lighting Festival. Many of the events either take place at city parks and recreation facilities or count the city as a sponsor.

Those events will have to start offering recycling containers for vendors and attendees starting July 1, according to the council resolution. The resolution encourages but does not mandate recycling at private events not held on city property.

The city is working to install recycling containers at facilities that regularly host special events, including parks and athletic facilities.

“That will cover most of the events that are affected by this resolution,” Sitton said.

Larger events, however, might produce more trash and recyclable materials than the existing containers could handle. In those cases, event organizers would need to pay the city for extra containers and waste collection, Sitton said.

For a fee, the city will offer small, portable recycling containers and a large recycling bin, depending on an event’s size.

“There’s no one-size-fits-all,” Sitton said.

The city also plans to launch a pilot program to lend the portable recycling containers to smaller events without charge. In exchange, organizers would pick up and return the containers themselves.

Carol Short, executive director of the Denton Festival Founda­tion, which produces the arts and jazz festival, said she supports the new recycling rules. The city and arts festival have worked together for years to offer recycling at vendor booths during the event, which draws thousands to Quakertown Park each April.

“Individuals do it in their own residences; why wouldn’t you do it at a public event?” Short said. “I think people respect events that are into that.”

LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com.