Greening the 85 th Birthday Celebrations of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba NATIONAL GO-GREEN TEAM Navigating through GPS (Green Practices through Sai)

Nature is the mirror in which the image of God is reflected – Baba Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees — Bible

Awareness Before the event Day before the event and event day After the event

Global Warming Industrialization, deforestation, and pollution have greatly increased the concentration of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide resulting in global warming. The effects of global warming are shattering. Average temperatures have shot up 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit around the world since 1880, with the last two decades being the hottest in 400 years. This is resulting in the extinction of many species. More on

Hazards of Plastic and Styrofoam Plastic and Styrofoam products which are heavily used on a daily basis are major environmental offenders mainly because they are non-biodegradable. In the U.S an estimated 30 billion plastic water bottles are consumed every year of which 99% are incinerated or land filled. Every day, approximately 1369 tons of Styrofoam goes into U.S. landfills and burning of these landfills is releasing dangerous chemical byproducts into the atmosphere. More on

A strong yearning to go green Identify your center’s green champion/leader Talk to county’s Solid Waste Department or Sustainability office to learn if they have a recycling directory. Learn about the local recycling facilities and build a relationship with one, ask if they would volunteer their time to help you walk you through the set up process for the event

Learn about the local composting facilities Identify product vendors Understand the process and fee involved for recycling/waste processing, composting, hauling, products and services

Be the sustainability strategist (expert) or bring in one to help put the recycling program in place Discuss with Sai National Go Green Team liaison Present the idea of going green to officers with the sustainability strategist to address any concerns that may arise. Set a date to present the officers with cost analysis and steps in place to execute the recycling and /or composting program and follow through

Team up with the food coordinators for insight regarding food stations or product purchase Identify the method in place for waste disposal at the venue, understand if the venue cost includes waste disposal. This step could save the center if done before finalizing the venue, as some include or charge addition for waste disposal. Schedule a site visit, get the venue plan, identify what the facility has in place: number of bins, locations and a identify place to locate the hauler during the event, preferably out of sight.

Prepare a plan of the venue with green station locations, number the stations, identify the number of bins in each station and liner capacity, size of the liner will be based on the bin size at the venue Recommended to use clear liner on all bins except landfill waste. Code the bins to include but not limited to: a) paper (optional smaller bin), b) plastic, c) biodegradable/compostable products, d) food waste and e) materials unable to recycle. If food is not composted, then non recyclable materials could be combined with food waste and could use a black liner.

Paper, if it is not a primary waste generated at the food station then place a smaller bin in the main space or breakouts, if needed. Secure two or three roll out bins to collect filled trash bags in them and take them to the hauler, avoid carrying trash bags directly without the rollouts as you do not want any mishap and some liners are not sturdy.

Always look for ways to educate people, may be have ten minute jeopardy on sustainability, presentation or someone from local recycling facility talk. Create a poster that could be kept at every event moving forward; targeting children, young adults and adults. Be as creative as you can be to engage the attendees and educate them/ourselves as well.

Mark the green stations, create a poster to state messages like “STOP before you drop” or similar. The center could be as creative as you want it to be. This poster could also be an SSE project. Place the poster above the food stations to mark the location. Code the bins with actual products that would be disposed in them and a note to say biodegradable products or plastic products only. Note: if you buy corn based or bagasse cutleries, be sure to mention them as they might look like plastic but needs to be directed in to the appropriate stations.

Identify volunteers; hold a meeting to educate them about the process, products, their food station location and shifts. Preferred if done a week in advance. Identify two volunteers at a minimum to be in-charge of the rollout bins to take the trash out to the hauler. Be prepared for mishaps, liner breaks, food or water leaks from the trash bags during transfer and so on. You can avoid this by removing the trash bags when it is three quarters full.

Keep track of the liners purchased and used as this will give you the count of number of trash bags generated Be sure to inform the hauling company to provide you with the weight of the recyclables hauled to the recycling facility this will help you measure your efforts

Review the entire event for ways to improve Measure your impact to the best of your ability Share your success story to the center, volunteers and to the Sai Go Green House