• Think about sustainable shipping practices: ship in bulk, reduce the size of your packaging, and limit individual shipments. 
• Be sure to your suppliers if they can reduce to amount of non-recyclable packaging or better still find an alternative.  
• Purchase product through suppliers utilising environmentally safe packaging where possible. 
• Identify the two largest waste streams you generate and define a plan to minimise these. 
• Leave it at home - utilise your existing recycling facilities to dispose of items properly before you even get to Fieldays. 
• Take it with you - ensure you take any post-event waste which cannot be responsibly disposed of off our site when you leave.
• Show waste avoidance and minimisation by sorting waste at the source: put cardboard, food and general waste into the correct bins. 
• Review what recycling code numbers your plastic has. Hamilton is restricted to recycle plastic items with number 1, 2 and 5 only – if you have another number, work with your suppliers for alternatives.  
• Work with suppliers, including your caterers, café, coffee, and production partners to ensure that your entire exhibition site is following all the guidelines. It is the responsibility of each exhibitor to ensure all suppliers that build and produce your site are following all the guidelines.

BROKEN GLASS is a Health and Safety risk and will not be recycled. If you have been provided with a glass recycling bin, please use it with care.   

Do not store rubbish in boxes behind partitions on your site, as this could be a fire hazard or attract vermin. 

Clearly labelled General Waste, Recycling, and Compostable Waste bins are located in waste stations throughout the Fieldays site.  Please separate your recycling, glass, broken down cardboard, landfill and compostable and place in or next to these bin stations multiple times throughout the day. A few minutes of your time will save the Waste Team working overnight and minimise health and safety risks. 

Our waste crew will work towards the highest landfill diversion rate as possible, so please consider separating the following: 

• Glass (separated into single colours – green, clear, brown) 
• Plastic (1, 2, 5 only) 
• Aluminium cans (do not crush)
• Cardboard and paper – with boxes broken down  
• Building materials – including timber and metal 
• Pallets 
• Food waste 
• Approved Compostable Packaging. 
• Avoid bringing these problem items to Fieldays: 
  - Soft plastics (eg: clothing covers) we cannot recycle large volumes of these 
  - Coat hangers cannot be recycled, consider reusing or sending them back to your suppliers instead  
  - Non-compostable coffee cups, lids, and hot chip containers go straight to landfill  
  - Compostable packaging with non-compostable stickers, or plastic windows – the stickers and plastic windows cause the entire packaging to be unrecyclable. 
   

Due to the large amount of interest from exhibitors wanting to be a part of our Fieldays Sustainability Participant Programme (FSPP) , we are in the middle of planning what the evolution of this programme will look like. This could take some time to get right, and are therefore pausing the rollout of the programme this year, hoping to resume it again for Fieldays 2025, with the desire is to make this an event wide initiative. For exhibitors who are already doing amazing things and would like to share their journey, discuss their processes or talk through any questions,  please email reception@fieldays.co.nz. 

While we eagerly await the kick-off of FSPP,  we invite you to share your story with others by entering the Fieldays Site Awards, in the Sustainability category. See how to enter here.