Riverfest Recycles

Schedule

Thank you to the Riverfest “Go Green” committee for overseeing a very successful 2012 “Riverfest Recycles” program.  Festival-goers and volunteers collected over 80,000 aluminum cans in 2012 and granted a wish through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  A very lucky little boy got to see his wish come true to take a trip to Disney World.  Thanks to everyone who participated in our program and to the great group of sponsors that helped to underwrite Riverfest Recycles.

Go Green continues to implement lots of new ideas with the goal of achieving even better results!  Riverfest partnered with AEP Southwestern Electric Power Company, Regional Recycling & Waste Reduction District, Waste Management, Tenenbaum Recycline Group, (TRG), Entergy and Coca-Cola, not to mention a quarter of a million festival-goers, to recycle at Riverfest and to spread the word about recycling.

The “Riverfest Recycles” Program encourages festival-goers to recycle plastic bottles and aluminum cans which are typically just discarded.  Festival-goers can stop by our recycling tent, located on the walkway behind the Museum Center between the Riverfest Amphitheatre and the Clinton Library, and pick up a recycling bag.  While enjoying Riverfest, attendees are encouraged to fill their collection bags with at least 20 recyclable items and return it to the Recycling Tent for a chance to win a prize.  With each full bag returned to the Recycling Tent, attendees earn a chance to spin the prize wheel.  Prizes on the wheel include t-shirts, hats, corndogs, and many more fun prizes including a few premium prizes.  In addition to collecting recyclables, all festival goers are asked to make use of the numerous recycling containers located throughout the park.  After hours the Riverfest recycling committee and volunteers, along with the Little Rock Parks and Recreation Department, will retrieve cans and plastic bottles from recycling containers, and any cans that may not have made it to the containers.

As part of the 2012 goal to surpass prior recycling efforts, Go Green’s target is to recycle enough aluminum cans to grant a wish through the Make-a-Wish Foundation of the Mid-South.  In order to achieve this lofty goal, nearly every can will have to be recycled.  Everyone is encouraged to stop by the “Riverfest Recycles” tent during the festival to check out the “Can-O-Meter” and see how close we are to reaching this goal!

There are few times in life when there is an opportunity for a true Win-Win-Win situation.  At Riverfest 2012, that situation existed.  The community wins by experiencing a clean Riverfest, the Earth wins by keeping recyclables out of the landfills, and lastly, a child in need will enjoy a dream come true.  Each and every festival-goer will have to pitch in, but just know that your efforts have contributed toward these wins, and granted a child’s wish.  Riverfest thanks you in advance for your efforts in Recycling!

Without the support of AEP Southwestern Electric Power Company and our other recycling partners, Riverfest, Inc., a 501 (c)(3) non-profit, would not be unable to continue this program and successfully undertake or fund the type of recycling program we have for the past three years.  Following are details from some of our past recycling efforts. This year we hope to increase our recycling numbers even more!

RIVERFEST 2009:

  • 1st year of the “Riverfest Recycles” program.
  • $25,000 grant provided by Regional Recycling & Waste Reduction District allowed Riverfest to purchase t-shirts and other giveaways.
  • Coca-Cola Bottling Company provided over 60 new recycling containers to be used on-site.
  • Riverfest Recycles Program collected 10 tons of recyclable material.

RIVERFEST 2010:

  • $50,000 grant is provided for the 2nd year of the “Riverfest Recycles” Program.
  • While continuing the incentive program of giving away t-shirts and other items, Riverfest enhanced and expanded the program by giving away a Smart Car as part of the program. The Smart Car was given away in June of 2010 to Amy Frazier of Jacksonville, Arkansas. She alone recycled 21 bags of materials.
  • Coca-Cola Bottling Company continued to support the program by bringing back their interactive display (one of only two displays that travels the country), as well as other corporate sponsors such as TRG Recycling Group and Verizon Wireless.
  • Riverfest food vendors participated by displaying signage at their food locations encouraging festival-goers to recycle.
  • Recycling tents had to remain open one hour past festival closing hours each night because of the overwhelming response of festival-goers collecting bottles and cans after the concerts concluded;
  • Riverfest Recycles Program collected approximately 14 tons of recyclable material.

RIVERFEST 2011:

  • The Rivefest Go Green Committee continued to encourage Riverfest patrons to recycle and implemented a “Wheel of Fortune” concept to award prizes to individuals who brought bags of recyclables to the Riverfest Recycles tent;
  • AEP Southwestern Electric Power Company signed on as the Presenting Sponsor for the Riverfest Recylces Progam;
  • The Clinton Presidential Center joined the growing list of sponsors supporting the Riverfest Recycles program;
  • Entergy awarded a grant to Riverfest to help fund the recycling effort;
  • Riverfest collected approximately 8 tons of recyclable materials.  The lower numbers in 2011 were due to the elimination of glass on-site, which had previously made up a considerable amount of the tonage of recyclables collected.