stallholders smiling from a stand at CultureFest

More than 5000 attendees - just one bag of landfill waste. This year’s Selwyn CultureFest was the largest yet and the most sustainable.

Guided by the Council’s Event Waste Sustainability Guide and supported by waste reduction champions Without Waste Limited (WoW), the record crowd, along with 30 food vendors, performers and community stall holders generated a total of 7.8kg (one bag) of landfill waste, compared with 93kg of compostable items.

Overall, 93.4% of waste on site was diverted from landfill, which met the international standard for a zero-waste event.

The biggest change this year came from using compostable packaging required in the Sustainability Event Guidelines. This is now more readily available for vendors in Selwyn and Christchurch through a partnership with Christchurch City Council.

Coffee mugs were also available to use instead of takeaway cups and were washed on site by WoW staff. Efforts to use more reusable items will be part of the work to try and reduce waste even further at next years’ event.

It was positive to see the way the initiative was embraced, Council Executive Director Community Services and Facilities Denise Kidd says.

“This is a great example showcasing how we can make small changes at events that create a large impact – especially our vendors who really got onboard to make this happen. It’s also given us some great ideas for how we can keep reducing waste at more of our events.”

Last modified: 18 Nov 2025 9:03am