UK: The RAW Foundation – co-producers of the AIF’s Drastic on Plastic campaign, in which 60 festivals pledged to eliminate single-use plastic – has released the full programme for its ‘RAW Talks’ on October 18 this year’s Showman’s Show, held at Newbury Showground.
The event, which takes place in the Hub Talks tent, offers a unique opportunity to find out the facts about why plastic is a problem, and what steps events can take to become free of ‘pointless plastic’.
In the ‘Steps Toward Pointless Plastic-free Events’ session, festival organisers who have taken steps to eliminate plastic share their experiences alongside experts with an overview of what has and hasn’t worked in the industry this season.
The programme also includes a masterclass on values based marketing with global brand pioneer Ed Gillespie of Futerra agency.
At least five suppliers will present their plastic-free or plastic smart solutions and services to participants, including Envirocup; Green Goblet; FRANK Water; and Ohoo, an innovative packaging solution for drinks.
The final session – ‘Behind the scenes in the waste industry’ with Jonathan Taylor from Grist Environmental – will look at what actually happens to event waste and bust some myths.
Organiser of the Showman’s Show, Lance Show & Publications Limited, has lent its support and provided a venue for the sessions to be delivered at the event. The organiser has demonstrated a commitment to tackling the issue of single-use plastic, having implemented several initiatives to reduce its own usage.
This includes encouraging all contractors, exhibitors and visitors to bring along their own re-usable water bottles and cups. Each exhibiting company will be provided with a stainless steel bottle, at Lance Show & Publications Limited’s expense, that are being supplied by RAW Foundation’s sister company, RAW Bottles. They are also working closely with vendors in their own catering outlets to ensure they use recyclable or compostable packaging where possible and have requested that one-off plastic water bottles and drinks are kept to a minimum. In addition, in partnership with their registration company, attendees will be encouraged to recycle the plastic wallets from their ID badges when leaving the show on Wednesday.
The Showman’s Show’s event director, Johnny Lance, said: “Our aim is to eliminate single-use plastics wherever we practically can and encourage our exhibitors to do the same. We’re thrilled to be supporting the RAW Foundation and hosting a dedicated session of RAW Talks for the event industry. It’s something that more and more organisers are looking at and we’re hoping that many of them will be able to attend the session and take home some practical tips for moving forward.”
Melinda Watson of the RAW Foundation added: “The Showman’s Show team have demonstrated real leadership in their approach to plastics this year and we are delighted to be presenting the RAW Talks sessions at this event. There are easy steps that can be taken to tackle single-use at events, many of which result in better audience experiences.”
RAW Bottles will also be exhibiting at the Show. RAW Bottles provides high quality stainless steel drinking bottles. Clients have included Glastonbury, Shambala, the AIF, Port Elliot, Boomtown and Cropredy Festival. Profits from RAW Bottles help to support the foundation’s campaign work on plastic pollution and fund free-to-use resources for events such as the Making Waves Guides.
