13th Annual Earth Day Festival Largest in Georgia



Thousands of environmentally conscious citizens gathered in Forsyth Park on April 18 to celebrate Earth Day 2009.

The weekend festival, held before the official Earth Day observance on April 22nd, was the largest community Earth Day event in Georgia.

The Earth Day Festival RecycleRama provided a recycling opportunity for many problematic items, such as paint. Participating citizens helped keep over 60,000 lbs of waste out of the landfill.

Through a partnership with Ashland Chemicals, more than 5400 gallons of paint were diverted from our landfills and disposed of properly, an increase of 1200 gallons from last year. The City of Savannah’s Recycling Department also collected 49lbs of recyclable waste from the event.

But Earth Day can be every day–in addition to the City’s curbside collection of standard recyclables, citizens who have more of these hard-torecycle items can use the Web site www.Earth911.com to search for drop-off locations for specific materials. Working with the theme “be green, save green”, 85 exhibitors demonstrated how even inexpensive changes, like the type of light bulb you use, can help the environment, while bigger investments in earth-friendly technology, like solar power, can save you money over time. The festival also highlighted wildlife and habitat conservation, waste recycling, water quality protection, and many other environmental efforts taking place throughout Chatham County.

Free workshops taught attendees how to compost with worms, build a rain barrel, and make environmentalism a part of parenting.Successful community events like this would not be possible without the enthusiastic support of the volunteers, attendees, and sponsors.

The Earth Day Committee greatly appreciates the participation and hard work at this year’s Earth Day Festival.

For more information, contact Environmental Affairs Administrator Laura Walker at 912-651-2221 or Environmental Planner Sarah Barlow at 912-651- 6943.


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