Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District
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        • Working With Vendors

Working with Vendors

Whether your event will host food vendors, product or craft vendors, or if you'll be bringing in catered food or making it yourself— ​it is helpful to gather some basic information about what your potential waste streams will look like.  
  • Will/or can there be reusable service-ware options? Follow this link to consider how you can host an event using only reusable service-ware.
  • Are there containers for food and drinks? If so, can you reduce the variety by working with vendors ahead of time?
  • What other give-a-ways will vendors be handing out?
​Here are some ideas to help you to plan ahead and ways to communicate your guidelines to vendors.

Food vendor guidelines

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Below are some areas to consider incorporating into your event food guidelines. 
  1. Require that vendors recycle their used cooking oil
  2. Require that vendors/caterers provide drinks and condiments (water, tea, sugars, ketchup, salad dressings, etc.) in bulk instead of in individual packages and servings. OR- require that vendors/caterers buy those that are sold in recyclable containers.
  3. Provide them with a compost bucket, or ask them to be responsible for their own food scraps
  4. Provide your vendors with a list of acceptable/ not acceptable items. This will help prevent unwanted items showing up day of the event.  Option:  Ask your vendors to all use the same containers to avoid confusion.
Acceptable items:
  • Food Scraps including, meat, dairy and all vegetable waste. Here's the complete list.
  • Zero Sort recyclables: paper, cardboard, glass bottles, aluminum, steel and plastic
NOT accepted:
  • Compostable food containers, or paper products (food soiled paper plates, napkins, paper cups).
  • Plastic utensils
  • Styrofoam
  • Milk containers, juice packs, straws, etc.

Choose to reuse for events

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​Catering services:
  • If you are working with a catering company, ask them to provide only washable/reuseable containers.  Most catering companies are willing and able to comply with requests to compost food scraps, use reusable to-go containers, and limit the amount of waste, when requested. 

D.I.Y food service:
  • Whenever possible, use either catering supply companies for reusable items or locally source items for serving and eating food, such as tablecloths, silverware, glasses, mugs, plates and cloth napkins. ​If reusables aren’t an option for the caterer or vendor that you select, use only recyclable materials, as compostables are not currently accepted at any Central Vermont commercial composting company. 
  • We lend out bus bins for setting up your own dish-washing station! With help from volunteers, you can choose reuseable service-ware for your event. click on the button below to reserve your bins today.
Reserve & Borrow Bins

Non-food vendor considerations 

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Ask non-food vendors to consider the environmental impact of any packaging they use, give-a-ways to be used at the event, and minimizing the packaging for such items.  Require or request that they: 
  • have minimal packaging, and ask if the customer needs a bag
  • limit the number of give-a-ways (business cards, brochures, packaged samples, etc).
  • make sure all distributed items are reusable, recyclable, or compostable (food items).
  • allow participants to select only the items they actually want (rather than handing them out to everyone).
  • distribute items to attendees that will help them to reduce waste and restore environmental quality in the future (e.g selling cloth bags, native plant seeds, potted plants, etc).
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Office  | 137 Barre St, Montpelier VT 05602-3618| 802-229-9383 | comments@cvswmd.org
Office Hours: M - F, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
ARCC  | 540 No. Main St, Barre VT 05641 | 802-476-1900  
ARCC Hours: M, W, F, 10:30 am - 5:30 pm and 3rd Saturdays, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
ARCC Closed for Lunch: M, W, F, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm 

*CVSWMD Member Towns: 
Barre City, Barre Town, Berlin, Bradford, Calais, Chelsea, Duxbury, East Montpelier, Fairlee, Hardwick, Middlesex, Montpelier, Orange, Plainfield, Tunbridge, Walden, Washington, Williamstown, and Woodbury. 
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Background photo (c) Adam Chandler/Flickr
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