Letter: How to reduce more waste at Downtown After 5

Graphic by Lori Deaton

Thank you to the Asheville Downtown Association for organizing the Downtown After 5 events! We particularly appreciate its efforts to reduce the plastic waste at these events by using compostable cups to serve beer, wine, etc.

However, we’ve watched the majority of these cups get tossed into the trash and recycling bins, instead of the compostable bins. Most patrons do not realize the cups are compostable. We think that with some basic education, the cups can end up in the right place so they get composted.

We suggest that the association asks its wonderful volunteers at the drink booths to tell each customer as they hand them their drink that the cup is compostable and should be discarded in the green bin after consumption. Most patrons will do the right thing when they know what to do.

The food trucks that use compostable food containers could do the same thing by explaining to customers to discard any leftovers and their containers in the green bins.

Hopefully, a little upfront education will go a long way toward the association’s wonderful effort to reduce plastic waste at the Downtown After 5 events!

— Brad and Susan Parker
Asheville

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Letters
We want to hear from you! Send your letters and commentary to letters@mountainx.com

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

3 thoughts on “Letter: How to reduce more waste at Downtown After 5

  1. V

    …the cup is going to compost no matter where it ends up. The whole point is that it’s not plastic which will never breakdown.

    • ashevillain7

      ^ This is a good point and one that probably deserves some study (if it hasn’t already been studied). If we remove all of the compostable, recyclable and other waste [that breaks down easily] from the landfill … how does that affect the rest of the waste in the landfill that doesn’t decompose as quickly on its own?

      Does it benefit the overall decomposition of landfill waste if it contains some % of compostable waste along with non-compostable waste?

  2. Robert

    What if we moved Downtown After 5 to earlier in the week when there are fewer tourists so that our resident taxpayers who care about the environment could better enjoy it (and our town)?

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.