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A) Reuse or Refill Program
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German Fest
Minnesota State Fair
Milwaukee Irish Fest
RiverSplash
St. Aloysius Church Festival
Mary Queen of Heaven
Grand Tasting
Seniorfest
Art In The Park
Waukesha County Fair
Harley Davidson 100th Anniversary
Waukesha County Fair Reports Hard Results with Soft Drink Recycling Initiative

Waukesha County Fair

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The Waukesha County Fair is a five day event held at the Waukesha County Fair Grounds. The event features livestock exhibits, music, food, rides, games, and other activities and entertainment. In 1999, 103,471 people attended the Waukesha County Fair.

bullet In recent years, vendors at the Waukesha County Fair have begun selling beverages such as water and soda in plastic PET bottles. To address this need, a plastic bottle recycling program was implemented.

bullet Twenty-three "PETE's Bin" recycling bins were used. The cylindrical green bins are made from recycled PET plastic and look very different from traditional trash containers. These bins were placed throughout the fair grounds, next to trash containers and near vendors selling beverages in recyclable plastic containers.  

bullet Plastic bags were used to line the recycling containers. The inventory of these unique bags was counted prior to the start of the Fair, and at its close, to determine, how many times the PETE's recycling bins were replaced.  
bullet Staff at the County Fair were instructed to replaced the liners in the recycle bins only when they were full. The filled liners were then placed in larger containers which were picked up by Waukesha County Parks Department refuse trucks and taken to the Waukesha County Materials Recycling Facility to be baled for recycling. Approximately 8,800 No.1 (PET) bottles or about 500 pounds of No.1 plastic were recovered for recycling. Contamination was relatively low. Rejected material at the Materials Recycling Facility was not higher than normal for July 1999 and no complaints were received from the Materials Recycling Facility operator.  
PETE's bin
 

For more information about Waukesha County Fair's PET Recycling Program, call the Be Smart Information Hotline at 1-866-91-SMART or Waukesha County's Business Recycling Specialist, 262-896-8317.