Building on the efforts of the last four Brentwood Regattas, we are once again promoting a comprehensive "Green" regatta. With the support of the local regional district and the help of a local Scout group and everyone who attends, we hope to significantly reduce the environmental impact of this huge event.

Everyone who attends, athletes, coaches, spectators and vendors can help to "make a difference" by observing the product selection, recycling and garbage sorting guidelines laid out in these pages.

The Brentwood Environmental Action Team (BEAT) will have an information booth set up outside Crook's Dining Hall. Students will be available to answer any questions and will provide information about the  Zero Waste waste management program and Green initiatives on campus.

At the end of the weekend, if any Crews have left over non perishable food, the food can be dropped off at the BEAT booth and will be taken to the local food bank. A schedule will be posted outside Crook's Hall for hours of operation. Stop by and see what The BEAT has been working on.

Vendor and food tent product selection

With over 1500 athletes on site, food is one of the biggest items on campus. Along with the food comes utensils and serving solutions and, inevitably, a wide range of items that need to be disposed of. We ask all locations serving food on campus to try and observe these guidelines to help us reduce the amount of garbage heading to landfill sites:

• Use paper plates, bowls and cups as opposed to styrofoam or plastic ones. Food soiled paper is compostable and can be returned to the earth to help nourish future food crops.
• Wooden stir sticks can be composted. Plastic ones head to the landfill.
• Waxed paper and plain paper bags are better for serving burgers, wraps and sandwiches as they can all be composted. Foil lined bags have to go in the garbage.
• Ketchup, mustard, milk, cream, sugar and other condiments are more environmentally friendly served from large dispensers rather than individual pouches and blister packs.
• Cardboard buckets and trays with paper liner are great for fries, rice, noodles or other foods that you are serving. It's all compostable!
• Utensils: While recognising that plastic is the current medium of choice for disposable cutlery, there are alternatives if you wish to go the extra mile. Wooden chopsticks are compostable. Simple wooden two prong forks have been available for fries for a long time. There are now whole ranges of wooden utensils available.  There are also new compostable plastic solutions. Links to some of these are provided below in the resources section.

The bottom line is: what gets brought onto the site is a huge factor in determining where stuff goes when it leaves the site. We would encourage everyone to make that little extra effort to help us help our planet.

As part of the regatta program this year, the "green team" will be awarding "Green Star" certificates to vendors and stalls who best fit our site recycling policies. There will be three levels of award based on the amount of landfill waste generated by the business or stall. A 3 star award recognizes vendors who generate NO WASTE, 2 star awards go to vendors who generate a minimal amount of landfill waste,  one star to vendors who generate a lot of landfill waste. Vendors who generate excessive waste will not qualify for "Green Star" certificates. These certificates can be prominently displayed on the front of your stall so consumers can make informed decisions about the vendors they wish to support.

Crew Feeding Stations

One of the most impressive sites at our annual regatta is the "tent city" that springs up, manned by volunteers who feed huge numbers of traveling athletes. These feeding stations naturally produce large quantities of waste. In an effort to reduce the impact of your operations on the environment, please come prepared for our recycling program.

How we sort on site:

Every item can be sorted into one of 5 categories:

• REFUNDABLES :  Just about any container that drinks are sold in except Milk Containers including soy milk. This includes pop cans, tetra packs, glass bottles, plastic bottles and flexible drink pouches.
• RECYCLABLES : Clean - cardboard, paper, plastic, glass and metal. Food contaminated items cannot go into recycling, so please rinse plastic, glass and metal containers.
• COMPOSTABLES: ALL ORGANIC MATTER. This includes all leftover food including bones, fat and meat. Any dirty paper or cardboard including paper towels, napkins etc. All waxed paper and cardboard INCLUDING milk cartons. Any wood products such as chopsticks, stir sticks etc. Paper plates, bowls and cups. Please guide your athletes to use the correct bins when finished with their food.
• GARBAGE: Anything you weren't able to fit into one of the above categories.

We will have strategically positioned collection stations around campus where we would like all crew tents to take their sorted waste. Our recycling crews will come by on a regular basis to transport the waste to our central processing plant. If you require extra bins to effectively implement our sorting scheme, let our team know when you arrive and we will work with you to set up suitable containers.

Campus wide Recycle stations

We urge everyone attending attending the regatta to take an extra 5 seconds to think before they dispose of unwanted items at our recycle stations. We will have members of our "Green Team" including our local cubs and scouts available to help you dispose of garbage, but we will also have clear signage at all disposal points guiding you to the appropriate containers for your trash.

Our large stations will have 4 receptacles

• REFUNDABLES :  Just about any container that drinks are sold in except Milk Containers including soy milk. This includes pop cans, tetra packs, glass bottles, plastic bottles and flexible drink pouches.
• RECYCLABLES : Clean - cardboard, paper, plastic, glass and metal. Food contaminated items cannot go into recycling, so please rinse plastic, glass and metal containers.
• COMPOSTABLES: ALL ORGANIC MATTER. This includes all leftover food including bones, fat and meat. Any dirty paper or cardboard including paper towels, napkins etc. All waxed paper and cardboard INCLUDING milk cartons. Any wood products such as chopsticks, stir sticks etc. Paper plates, bowls and cups. Please guide your athletes to use the correct bins when finished with their food.
• GARBAGE: Anything you weren't able to fit into one of the above categories.

Medium stations will have 3 choices:-

• REFUNDABLE / RECYCLABLE :  Just about any container that drinks are sold in except Milk Containers including soy milk. This includes pop cans, tetra packs, glass bottles, plastic bottles and flexible drink pouches, plastic, glass and metal. Plus any CLEAN paper, plastic or metal.
• COMPOSTABLES: ALL ORGANIC MATTER. This includes all leftover food including bones, fat and meat. Any dirty paper or cardboard including paper towels, napkins etc. All waxed paper and cardboard INCLUDING milk cartons. Any wood products such as chopsticks, stir sticks etc. Paper plates, bowls and cups. Please guide your athletes to use the correct bins when finished with their food.
• GARBAGE: Anything you weren't able to fit into one of the above categories.

Small stations will have 2 choices:

• REFUNDABLES :  Just about any container that drinks are sold in except Milk Containers including soy milk. This includes pop cans, tetra packs, glass bottles, plastic bottles and flexible drink pouches.
• GARBAGE: Anything you weren't able to fit into the above categories.

Crew sleeping quarters such as the gym and auditorium are areas we would ask visiting crews in particular to make the effort to recycle correctly.

Washroom and Washing stations

In our washroom and washing station areas, there will be special bins marked "Paper Towels Only." These are intended for paper towels only and cannot have other washroom-associated waste deposited in them. There will always be a "GARBAGE" container at the same location and a refundable/recyclable container not too far away. Please help our "Green Team" by observing these important disposal requests in our washroom areas.