TVM has always strived to be a conscious event and business, with caring for our community and being kind to our environment at the forefront.
Over the past six years, we’ve been working hard to reduce the environmental impact of our events by eliminating single use plastics from our event management practices, introducing re-useable market essentials and banning single-use plastics from our events by working closely with our food vendors.
As part of this strategy, in 2019 we contacted the team at Climate Wave Enterprises to implement their Zero Waste Management System at TVM events.
We were thrilled to learn through CWE’s reporting, that this system has saw 88 x 240L bins diverted from landfill in it's first year, and in 2020 coming in at 87% waste diversion and improving by 13% from 2019 - an achievement we’re pretty damn proud of! (full report here)
“Climate Wave Enterprises are grateful to The Village Markets for being the first market on the Gold Coast to take on our zero waste management system. In the first 12 months 119 x 240 Litre household wheelie bins were filled with waste (nearly the equivalent of a standard size backyard swimming pool), 88 bins were diverted from landfill, which gave us a remarkable 74% diversion rate. For more info https://www.climatewave.com/tip-single-use-plastic-items-out-of-your-events/
It has been an absolute joy working with the TVM team and food stallholders who have been so cooperative at every step of the way, which is why this system has been so effective. And thanks to TVM's social media promotion we were invited to install our system at another market and enquiries from others are coming through.” Gregory Howell, CWE.
We’ve also been donating our compost to Burleigh Heads State Schools garden for the past year and in 2021 we will be donating it to Southern Beaches Community Garden in Tugun, with recyclables going to Surfrider Foundations Southern Gold Coast Branch to protect our beaches.
We thought we’d share a little overview of some of the things we’re doing to be a more conscious and sustainable event:
- Our aim is to be a zero waste event by eliminating single use plastics and reducing landfill, whilst also composting and recycling.
- Working with Climate Wave Enterprises to implement their Zero Waste Management System at our events.
- Strict single-use plastic free regulations for our stallholder community.
- For the past year, compost from TVM events has been going to Burleigh Heads State Schools garden and in 2021 it will be donated to the Southern Beaches Community Garden in Tugun, following each event.
- Recyclables are processed and 100% are donated to Surfrider Foundation Gold Coast Branch, to protect our beaches.
- Moving to compostable bin liners.
- Selling re-useable market essentials such as totes, stainless drink bottles, coffee cups and picnic packs, on market day and online, with the aim of eliminating single use plastics and promoting thoughtful consumer consumption.
- All online merchandise sales are sent using Hero Packaging, 100% compostable satchels.
- Hosting a twice-monthly Rack Sale and also vintage stalls, encouraging our community to recycle their designer threads.
When you visit us at TVM, be sure to have a chat to Murray and the CWE team, or our friendly TVM crew, if you have any questions or aren’t sure which bins to use.
Thanks for coming along with us on our journey to become a zero waste event!
