Keeping Andalusia Beautiful

Fresh off a wildly successful 11th Annual Bluegrass Festival, the Executive Director of Keep Milledgeville-Baldwin Beautiful, takes to the blog this week to describe the efforts that his organization took to make the festival a minimal-waste event.  Thanks to KMBB, an event that drew nearly 600 people had a cumulative 4 bags of waste taken to the local landfill. Thanks Andy!

There are many things all people have in common, and of those, having a good time is a favorite. All across our planet people like to get together for food, music and all sorts of fellowship. Some rituals date back millennia, and new traditions are created everyday.

In planning a celebration, of any sort, people can focus on sustainability. Specifically, people can strive to reduce their impact on our planet by planning minimal waste events. The amount of fun doesn't have to be sacrificed to make an event more environmentally responsible. In fact, the fun can be continued afterwards in knowing that your impact on the earth was minimized.

Andalusia hosted its 11th annual Bluegrass Festival as a minimal waste event.  The food and beverage vendors used recyclable materials and Keep Milledgeville Baldwin Beautiful provided recycling bins for their disposal. Volunteers were on site to help facilitate. In addition to providing a family-friendly event featuring world-class musicians, hopefully this year's festival will inspire others planning events to consider more responsible waste management options.

So after banjos and mandolins are put away, we can whistle and hum those tunes in the months to come knowing that the fun had on the farm did not come with a hidden cost.