The City of Richmond has won a
Virginia Green Travel Leader Award, in the category of Most Innovative and Impactful Green Project, for the initiatives put into place by the RVA Green
Team.
RVA Green Team is a partnership of the
City of Richmond Sustainability Office, HandsOn Greater Richmond and the
Virginia Green Travel Alliance to recruit, train and deploy volunteers to help
special events in the city become more sustainable by reducing the amount of
waste sent to landfill and enhancing the overall sustainability of events.
Due to their efforts, the RVA Green
Team helped reduce the environmental footprint in the City of Richmond by
decreasing the amount of waste sent to landfills. From January through October
of 2016, 42,424 pounds of waste were diverted from landfills, which includes a
59 percent recycle rate over 14 events held during that time.
The RVA Green Team achieved these
results by increasing the amount of recycling and composting at events
throughout the City of Richmond. RVA Green Team volunteers helped attendees
sort and divert their waste into the right containers.
“Congratulations to the RVA Green
Team, and thank you to the many volunteers whose hard work helps improve the
quality of life for our residents, and to create a healthy environment for
everyone who lives, works, and plays in the City of Richmond,” said Mayor Levar
M. Stoney.
On February 17, 2017, the Virginia
Green program will recognize outstanding Virginia tourism businesses from
across the Commonwealth for their voluntary efforts to reduce the environmental
impacts of their operations.
The awards will be presented during
the Virginia Green Travel Awards Luncheon. which will be held from Noon until
1:15 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. Virginia’s First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe
will be attending the luncheon and presenting the awards.
