Labor Day Festival Offers Zero Waste Games

Bring your family, friends, and neighbors to the Greenbelt Labor Day Festival and test your skills and knowledge with the Zero Waste Circle’s fun and educational games. Learn from local volunteers as they share tips on how to reduce, reuse, recycle and compost. Participants will win prizes, such as reusable shopping bags from MOM’s and coupons from local vendors. Don’t forget to B.Y.O.R. (bring your own reusable) water bottle, and visit the Zero Waste Circle’s booth to be included in a tally of festival-goers who remember to B.Y.O.R.!

When you arrive, let us know that you B.Y.O.R. and ask for a map of the Greenbelt Water Works Scavenger Hunt. Show off how fast you can visit all of the different Greenbelt Water Works stations, and feel free to drink from their fountain or fill up your reusable water bottle at each stop. All of the Greenbelt Water Works locations will have a visible sign indicating festivalgoers are welcome to come in for free water. The Greenbelt Water Works locations include the Aquatic & Fitness Center, the Greenbelt Theater, Municipal Building, Community Center and Co-Op Grocery Store, all of which have water fountains you may use. You may refill with a reusable bottle at Generous Joe’s, New Deal Café, Makers’ Space and maybe more to come! Take a picture at the Greenbelt Water Works locations and share the pictures by emailing Volunteer@ CHEARS.org. You can pick a prize after you complete the scavenger hunt or any of the other Zero Waste Circle’s games.

Also, be on the lookout for the Zero Waste Circle’s new “Decomposition Timeline,” which illustrates the different rates at which various materials decompose. You will be shocked when you learn the difference between the rates of decomposition for Styrofoam or glass when compared to a banana peel or an apple core. Discover the answers and learn even more about reducing your household waste through reusing, recycling and composting! In the “Choose the Right Bin” challenge, you can test your eyehand coordination while juggling which waste item goes into which bin – recycle, compost or landfill. Choose the right bin, win a prize and learn how to be a better “Zero Waster”!

Our zero waste efforts would not be as successful as they are without the time and energy of dedicated volunteers. We invite you to join us in our efforts – volunteer to help Zero Waste the Labor Day Festival: lead games, teach festival-goers how to Choose the Right Bin and have fun! It is highly encouraged that volunteers attend the training session on Tuesday, September 1 if they missed the August 20 session. Training will be held in the Department of Public Works Building, 555 Crescent Road. Service-learning hours are provided for both training and serving over the festival weekend. Help us plan by sending an RSVP in advance.

The Labor Day Zero Waste effort is a project of the Zero Waste Circle, comprised of members of Greenbelt’s Green Team and affinity groups, with support from the Department of Public Works and the Chesapeake Education Arts and Research Society (CHEARS).