The final President’s Picnic of 2016 was held in Grafton on Wednesday, June 15th, a lovely and sunny conclusion to the annual year-end event series.

Drinks and condiments were served in bulk, which cut back on the amount of plastic and other packaging waste produced during the event.

Attendees were encouraged to BYOP — bring your own plates — as another way to reduce waste. Over 80 people brought their own dishes.

Anyone who brought their own dishes, cups, or utensils was entered into a raffle for a special prize. The first 50 visitors to our table also got a prize automatically!

Lillian of Student Services at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine won the top prize – a reusable, stainless steel lunch kit and utensil set!

Recycling interns helped sort recycling and compost at special Zero Waste Stations.

6 bags of recycling were collected, weighing about 48 pounds, while there were 40 pounds of food waste. Trash from the entire event fit into a tiny bag and weighed less than 2 pounds!

The lunch was catered by Loaves and Fishes.

Many thanks to everyone who helped make this event zero waste!

See all the photos here.