When thousands of spectators and participants gather at Flathead Lake next week for the Montana Dragon Boat Festival, they will have recycling containers for all those plastic water bottles and aluminum cans, thanks to a new effort by the WasteNot Project.

WasteNot Program Director Mayre Flowers said the recycling program has received a number of requests for recycling at larger events over the past six months, such as the annual equestrian Event at Rebecca Farm and farmers markets.

A collaborative effort between the Flathead County Solid Waste District, Flathead Valley Community College Service Learning Program and Citizens for a Better Flathead, WasteNot is doing further research on best practices for recycling at events and will then develop guidelines for minimizing waste at public gatherings.

For the dragon boat races on Sept. 8, WasteNot will use the yellow bins that recently were used at the Northwest Montana Fair, but County Public Works Director Dave Prunty suggested to the county commissioners it would be a good investment for the Solid Waste District to buy the needed receptacles, estimated at $80 apiece.

“It sounds like a pretty darn good idea for a pretty small investment,” Prunty said.

Flowers said WasteNot will use the dragon boat event to learn firsthand what is needed to better support events of this scale as the program develops guidelines.

Diane Medler, director of the Kalispell Convention and Visitor Bureau, said it was important for the bureau and other stakeholders to make the inaugural Montana Dragon Boat Festival a green event with full recycling options.

“In the competitive world of marketing and tourism, businesses are increasingly finding that the selection criteria for attracting or winning conventions and other major event bids often includes demonstrating that organizers can provide full recycling services as part of a potential contract,” Medler said in a memo sent to the Flathead County Solid Waste Board.

The memo encouraged the Solid Waste District and WasteNot to move forward with providing the resources for collecting and promoting recycling at community events.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.