Executive Summary
The UW night market is an annual event, which is put on by the Taiwanese Student Association (TSA). The night market brings up to 20 vendors to red square to promote Taiwanese culture. Vendors sell a wide variety of cultural foods as well as running games and activities for market goers to participate in. There are also free musical performances put on by the TSA.
Several thousand people usually attend this event and its popularity grows each year. In previous years the size of the event has caused problems in waste management. The University of Washington has strict rules regarding waste disposal and sorting waste into its correct receptacle. At such a large and exciting event many people may disregard signs on waste containers and throw everything in the same can despite whether it is garbage, recycling or compost. This year the TSA wished to eliminate this problem by better educating the public and providing guidance at the waste stations. To reach these goals the TSA reached out to the CSF to fund several aspects of their waste management. To improve the public’s knowledge of how UW manages waste the TSA created a slideshow and video explaining the differences between garbage, recycling and compost. These educational pieces were then shown on their website and presented at the night market event. In addition to these educational steps, the TSA also stationed volunteers at each waste station to ensure that everyone enjoying the festivities were correctly disposing of their waste into the respective container.
By taking these steps to better manage their waste the TSA has shown its dedication to make the University of Washington a more sustainable community.