RI VegFest is back to serve more vegan food and reduce waste

PROVIDENCE — RI VegFest just keeps getting bigger, better and greener.

Now in its fourth year, the annual event will take place February 4th and 5th at the WaterFire Arts Center and is expected to attract over 4,000 attendees. We have partnered with Bootstrap Compost to store most of the food waste and other materials used in 2 days. from a landfill.

RI Veggie Fest organizer and co-founder Robin Dionne said she and partner BJ Mansuetti are working with Bootstrap, a residential and commercial food waste collection service that operates in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. He said he learned about Compost from a neighbor who used the company’s residential composting service.

They tried it out and were so impressed they hired a company to divert the waste from last year’s RI Vegtoberfest, which was held outdoors.

“The impact it had was amazing,” said Dionne. “We had him 1,500 people, 30 to 40 vendors, beer and spirits…and never even filled nine bags of garbage. There were over 200 bags of garbage.”

At this weekend’s event, stations with trash, recycling, and composting bins will be set up throughout the venue, and Bootstrap employees will help attendees determine the appropriate bin for their trash. All compostable items are transported by Bootstrap trucks and processed at one of the company’s facilities. There, it is turned into a compost material that improves soil health.

RI VegFest will offer compostable plates, cups, cutlery and other items this weekend, but Dionne said all vendors will be asking for 100% compostable materials if they want to attend the event next year. must be used.

“Composting is a natural next step for us,” she said. “I think it goes hand in hand with what you eat and what kind of waste and trash you create, especially for me with an event of this scale.”

Igor Kharitonenkov, co-founder and chief operating officer of Bootstrap Compost, said his company, which has warehouses in Johnston, Rhode Island and Everett, Massachusetts, will partner with RI Vegfest to sponsor and help educate people. “I’m very excited,” he said. The benefits of composting and how it relates to soil health.

“Compost is the life-giving ingredient that turns dirt into soil. Without healthy soil, plants cannot grow, food cannot be produced, and carbon cannot be kept where it should be: under our feet. “By recycling our food and garden waste, we are doing our part as stewards and partners in maintaining the natural cycles that power the natural world around us.” Playing a role. Our compost, biofertilizer and earthworm casting are all part of the mosaic approach we employ to ensure we reach a zero waste and carbon negative future.”

Several vendors are already using Bootstrap Compost, Dionne said, and others are doing so to keep food, paper and other items out of landfills and offset harmful greenhouse gas emissions. He said he is keen to do so.

“That’s one thing VegFest was missing,” she said. “The composting landscape is changing, Bootstrap [Compost] It’s more advanced than most composters because it’s capable of composting more different types of items than others…we’re very lucky.