A&E

pRECYCLE Machine debuts at Festival

by Dominick Cross

The pRECYCLING machine and project will be introduced at the 2012 Festival International de Louisiane.

Festival International de Louisiane is known for introducing new and exciting music, film, art to the area during its magical run April 25-29 in downtown Lafayette.

This year, a little green attitude will go a long way as attendees are encouraged to bring aluminum cans to Parc Sans Souci across from Recycled Cycles on Vermilion Street to watch the pRECYCLE Machine in action.

According to a press release from Keep Lafayette Beautiful, the machine is a  "human powered can crushing device" and "made accessible to festival attendees in an effort to increase recycling while helping to reduce the actual costs of recycling:"

Recycling is more cost effective when recyclables are shipped directly to the plants from the site, eliminating costly transfer processing.

With a larger goal of ensuring that Louisiana festivals contribute to a more sustainable future, the current objective of the pRECYCLING project is to increase awareness of the importance of recycling to Festival International attendees. The project has future plans to introduce compostable consumables and reduce waste while decreasing Festival International's overall carbon footprint.

Other aspects of the pRECYCLING project include vendor and consumer research, branding, awareness and alternative recycling bins. The project will be concentrated in the Scene Pavilion area during this year's Festival International.

Though the project focuses on Festival International, the goal of the pRECYCLING project is to eventually apply the best practices learned from the 2012 Festival International to the more than 325 festivals that are held in Louisiana every year.

Keep Lafayette Beautiful, the Lafayette Recycling Foundationand the Jefferson Street Greenroom recently announced the partnership to support the efforts of UL Lafayette and Festival International in an effort to increase sustainability at Festival International's annual event.

The pRECYLCING machine and project, which has been in progress since fall of 2011, was developed by UL Lafayette industrial design professor Ben Bush, his third year design students and local entrepreneur and KLB board member Robert J. Guercio.

Go here  for more information, or follow KeepLaffyClean on Twitter.