'Green' message at root of eco festival

Carolyn Khew The Straits Times AsiaOne 24 Apr 15;

A festival celebrating all things eco-friendly will walk the talk.

EarthFest will feature more than 50 environment-friendly businesses and organisations. It will have a food fair, a farmer's market, live music and games.

To drive home the "green" message, vendors who produce less waste will pay lower fees for participating in the festival, scheduled to take place at the Marina Barrage on Sept 26.

Leftover organic waste, such as food waste, will be composted. The use of plastic bags will be banned.

Festival director Michael Broadhead said the event had been designed to reduce waste and energy usage. Attention had also been paid to the types of businesses allowed to participate and the products to be sold.

The organiser will come up with strategies to stop waste from being created, or to recycle or dispose of it responsibly, said Mr Broadhead, a teacher at an international school.

"We are the first festival in Singapore that will compost its organic waste, and no products can contain palm oil unless it is certified sustainable," he said.

Brownice, which sells ice cream made from brown rice milk, is one of the businesses taking part in the event, where it will use wooden spoons instead of plastic ones.

Ms Sophia Goh, 25, a private tutor, said she was keen on attending the festival: "I think it will be well-received because environmental awareness is growing here."

Free tickets to the festival can be reserved at http://earthfestsingapore.com