It's Not Easy Being Green
Like it or not, agree with it or not, more and more companies are making the decision to go “green.” With more and more consumers becoming concerned with issues like global warming, promoting an environmentally aware image is slowly becoming nearly mandatory in some industries.
However, environmental correct practices can be a real challenge for exhibitors. A certain amount of waste is built into the entire exhibit building and teardown process. And those little bits of wood, plastic, cans, papers and other recyclables have to be disposed of quickly and easily -- assigning a valuable employee to make that forty-five minute roundtrip to the nearest recycling center is simply a non-starter for companies on a budget. Frankly, if the convention center you’re working at doesn’t provide recycling, the green show is simply impracticable, and companies that are trying to act green need to investigate venues before committing to a particular show.
So, do most major convention centers offer recycling? We took an informal survey of several of the country’s largest convention centers. The results were interesting and, with one notable exception, good news for environmentally aware businesses. Here in Southern California, the Los Angeles Convention Center makes recycling bins available not only at the center, but in all of its offices. Similarly, both the Anaheim and San Diego Convention Centers have active recycling programs. And, considering that the San Francisco City Council has just made national news by banning plastic shopping bags, it’s no surprise to learn that the Moscone Center has it’s own recycling czar on staff.
Moving east, things are almost as green. The staff at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center spoke proudly of their recycling program, and Chicago’s McCormick Center offers recycling bins for paper and cans. Manhattan’s Jacob Javitts Center is an interesting case -- the facility does not offer recycling bins, but its garbage contractor goes through the trash itself and separates whatever recyclables it catches.
Of all the large convention centers we spoke to, all had at least some
provision for recycling. There was, however, one exception. It’s
the Las Vegas Convention Center. As they cheerfully admitted when we called,
they have no recycling program whatsoever. At the risk of repeating a
joke from our last issue, recyclables that go to Vegas, stay in Vegas’s
city dump.