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As a sustainability volunteer with GreenLight Solutions, I recently had the opportunity to help with a very special mission: Maximize waste diversion at VIVA Phoenix! Our Green Team was ready to achieve this mission through recycling, composting, and raising awareness.
As the music played, we alternated between shifts of Waste Sorting and Bin Guarding. Volunteering at a music festival brought together two things I love—live music and environmental action. By picking up litter and raising awareness, I felt like we were creating a cleaner, greener space for everyone to enjoy. However, it wasn’t all hard work; there were plenty of perks to being a Green Team member:
4. Personal Growth and New Skills: Being part of the Green Team pushed me out of my comfort zone and taught me a lot about communicating with people from all walks of life. I learned to speak confidently about waste reduction and sustainability, which is something I’ll carry into future experiences. 5. A Lasting Cultural Shift: Festivals like VIVA Phoenix bring thousands of people together. When they see volunteers making a positive environmental impact, it leaves a lasting impression. Many people told us they were inspired to start recycling or composting more because of what they learned from us.  As the festival wrapped up, our Green Team gathered to celebrate our successes. We’d made a visible difference, and the festival grounds were noticeably cleaner. Knowing we’d helped divert waste and educate the public made every moment worth it. We left VIVA Phoenix feeling empowered, knowing our efforts contributed to a cleaner, greener festival experience and a more informed community. The Green Team delivered and the Valley of the Sun reaped the benefits. Author: Ty Cowie
Ty Cowie is a freshman attending Arizona State University studying Manufacturing Engineering. Ty is a Green Event Service Assistant with GreenLight Solution with the purpose of trying to be a part of something that is impactful to the community and to learn what it takes to run a non-profit. Ty is interested in the environment and sustainability on how to change current world problems.
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Since then, the Green Team has executed another 23 events in 2024, honings the team’s collective skills and expertise. For the 2024 golf tournament, the Green Team had twelve Green Team staff and volunteers to support on the ground efforts and achieved 57% waste diversion. The Green Team executed multiple strategies to maximize waste diversion from the landfill:
Our impact
Thank You To Our Partners!
And of course, thank you to our Green Team staff and volunteers! None of this would be possible without the boots on the ground doing the dirty work to execute our waste diversion strategy on site. Cheers to another successful Leslie’s Charity Golf Tournament. May 2025 achieve our highest diversion yet. Author: Kirsten Kierum
Kirsten Kierum is an environmental engineering student at Arizona State University. She currently serves as a Nonprofit Development and communications Intern with GreenLight Solutions and plans to continue being involved throughout her time at ASU and beyond. She is passionate about environmental issues and enjoys working on impactful projects in her community.
 A Hands-On Approach
At the heart of GreenLight Solutions’ impact at the summit were the “boots on the ground”—our team of staff worked to make waste diversion more than just a goal. Each staff stationed themselves near trash bins throughout the venue, helping attendees navigate the world of recycling and composting. With an educational approach, they explained which items of trash belonged in each bin. This both contributed to the achieved waste diversion rate and inspired attendees to take sustainable habits home with them. However, mistakes still occur. Volunteers also took on the crucial task of Top Sorting, or moving items thrown in the wrong bin into the proper one. Then behind the scenes, GreenLight Solutions staff took on the responsibility of completing the full Waste Sort, meaning that they went through every bin from top to bottom to ensure that every item that could be recycled or composted, did! Partnering for Success While GreenLight Solutions led the charge, achieving an 80% waste diversion rate was a collaborative effort that wouldn’t have been possible without supporters. Mill and Waste Management believes in GreenLight Solution’s mission and is dedicated to propelling them forward. With R.City’s expertise in composting, all organic waste collected at the summit was turned into valuable, nutrient-dense compost, reducing landfill use and supporting sustainable agricultural practices in the Phoenix area. The City of Tempe contributed essential recycling and landfill services. Then last, but not least, GreenLight Solutions wouldn’t have had the opportunity to make this impact if it wasn’t for the organization behind the event: Compass CBS Foundation. Thank you to everyone who supported the Green Team and helped to make this impact possible. These partnerships went beyond valuable resources—they reflected a shared commitment to sustainability and held a high standard for collaboration in environmental initiatives. Together, they proved that building a sustainable future requires networks of support and expertise beyond individual action. Celebrating a Sustainability Successful Model The Going Green and Going Smart Summit illustrated what’s possible when a community unites with a commitment to sustainability. Through our Green Event Services, the Green Team showcased that high waste diversion rates aren’t just achievable—they are essential to creating a positive environmental impact. Every piece of compost, recyclable, and educated attendee contributed to the summit’s mission, highlighting that sustainable practices aren't just realistic, but also transformative. Author: Kirsten Kierum Kirsten Kierum is a student at Arizona State University, studying Environmental Engineering. She currently serves as a Nonprofit Development & Communications Intern with GreenLight Solutions and plans to continue being involved for the entirety of her time at ASU and beyond. She is passionate about environmental issues and enjoys working on impactful projects in her community.  Green Event Services at GreenLight Solutions has one main goal: #StarvetheLandfill. For an event to be considered “zero waste,” a 90% average diversion rate is typically required. It is safe to say that our mission was accomplished! We proudly report that the Green Team achieved 90% waste diversion from the landfill. But how did the Green Team make this happen? Many different things are required to maximize waste diversion potential. GreenLight Solutions works hard to strategize how to make events as low waste as possible, but new heights can be reached when the event hosts truly care about sustainability. Green Living Magazine was dedicated to making their Best of Arizona Awards Party event sustainable. They had multiple pre-event calls and site visits with the Green Team to ensure that the most efficient Waste Diversion protocol was in place. Green Living Magazine also committed to Sustainable Sourcing by choosing porcelain, reusable dishware, and recyclable wine glasses. Whatever couldn’t be reused or recycled was compostable. “From planning waste diversion logistics to the sourcing of sustainable materials, sustainability was at the forefront of Green Living Magazine’s event planning, and not an afterthought.” Of course, this would not have been possible if it wasn’t for those who support the Green Team. None of what was accomplished would be possible without all these people and organizations working together in their care for the planet.
 As reducing landfill waste helps minimize environmental impact, to #StarvetheLandfill contributes to a healthier community. The sustainability success story celebrated at the Best of Arizona Awards Party serves as a beacon of hope for Arizonans, promising a brighter future for current and future generations.
Author: Kirsten Kierum Kirsten Kierum is an environmental engineering student at Arizona State University. She currently serves as a Nonprofit Development and communications Intern with GreenLight Solutions and plans to continue being involved throughout her time at ASU and beyond. She is passionate about environmental issues and enjoys working on impactful projects in her community.  It was scorching out in the middle of October. Maybe I have a bias because I am from Washington, but it should not be over 100 degrees in October! However, the heat reminded us of why we came out to volunteer in the first place. Arizona was already hot, but it is just going to get hotter as conditions worsen due to climate change. Climate change and other environmental issues are complex problems. These are problems stretched across our global system, with multiple stakeholders and interconnected causes, effects, and solutions.
When I started my internship with GreenLight Solutions, I simultaneously began working with the Next Generation Service Corps (NGSC) at Arizona State University. NGSC’s goal is to teach students how to solves complex issues through cross-sectoral collaboration. This year I am the lead of Mission Team 22: Environmental Sustainability. Mission teams are groups of students in NGSC who have a passion for a particular social mission, and then work on projects to make a positive impact by learning, networking, volunteering, and planning impactful events. One of my goals for our mission team was to connect with as many environmentalists as possible in the Tempe area; so my internship with GreenLight Solutions was the perfect opportunity! The Green Team was recruiting volunteers, and my mission team was looking for opportunities to get involved with sustainability initiatives; so this was a perfect match to partner the two organizations. I brought members from my NGSC mission team to volunteer with me during the 3 days of Oktoberfest. I didn’t realize it then, but this was the perfect example of how cross-sectoral collaboration can be implemented at a large-scale event that targets environmental sustainability.
Four Peaks Oktoberfest is a collaboration between Tempe Sister Cities and Four Peaks Brewing. These two groups partnered with dozens of vendors and organizations and came together to create a memorable event for the community. For the past two years, Tempe Sister Cities also partnered with GreenLight Solutions to showcase its Commitment to Sustainability. GreenLight Solutions brought its whole network of passionate collaborators to maximize waste diversion from the landfill. This partnership means that the maximum amount of fun doesn’t need to come at the expense of the environment. The Green Team consisted of 38 volunteers and 51 staff members responsible for the on-site Waste Sorting, Attendee Education, and Custodial Services. The Green Team met people where they were, whether they just wanted a weekend job, needed volunteer hours, or were already passionate about sustainability. The Green Team is made possible through collaborations with Mill, Waste Management, Phoenix Toolbank Equipment, R.City, City of Tempe, and ROTC.  The Green Team rescued these valuable resources:
Overall, the Green Team recycled 6,800 pounds and composted 1,030 pounds. This is equivalent to 11 tons of CO2 emissions avoided, which is around 29,000 miles driven and 735,000 smartphones charged! In three days alone, GreenLight Solutions created a space where cross-sectoral collaborations solved complex challenges and made a direct impact. Thank you to all of those who made this possible. Author: Kirsten Kierum Kirsten Kierum is an environmental engineering student at Arizona State University. She currently serves as a Nonprofit Development and Communications Intern with GreenLight Solutions and plans to continue being involved throughout her time at ASU and beyond. She is passionate about environmental issues and enjoys working on impactful projects in her community. |
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