HIGHLIGHT
CARNIVAL OF LIGHTS
Prepare to experience a mash-up of illuminating light installations, live performances, interactive activities, and creative adventures that will excite imaginations, young and old. For three nights over Easter Weekend, HighLight: Carnival of Lights transforms Brewtown and Upper Hutt Central into a vibrant carnival atmosphere that takes you on an immersive journey.
The 2024 event marked the fourth year of collaboration between Nonstop Solutions and Highlight Festival, with the ambitious goal to move entirely away from single-use items and adopt full-reuse systems for all food and drink vendors over the three nights. This year’s bold initiative aimed to make the event virtually zero-waste, with the introduction of reusable serviceware on the festival grounds. While the festival achieved an overall 80.3% overall resource recovery rate, when we look at just attendee waste (removing back of house vendor waste) - this result looks more like a remarkable 95% resources recovered from landfill, an exciting benchmark for future events.
At HighLight: Carnival of Lights 2024, reuse took center stage as a key sustainability initiative. Over 8,000 reusable items—including cups, plates, and cutlery—were distributed across vendors, replacing single-use packaging entirely. Attendees embraced the reuse system, with 95% of attendee waste , demonstrating a collective commitment to reducing waste.
A highlight of the reuse initiative was the efficient system for collecting, washing, and redistributing reusable items throughout the event. Dirty dishes were promptly collected, cleaned, and returned, ensuring that vendors and attendees had what they needed without missing a beat.
One vendor reflected, “After the initial adjustment, using reusable crockery became second nature. It created a better event experience, and we hope this becomes standard at all festivals.”
This successful transition to reuse proves that with proper planning, communication, and collaboration, we can make zero-waste events a reality!
“We found it difficult to change from using our products to using crockery on the Friday night, but once we got in the groove, it was so much better. We honestly wish this was available at every event!”
Spotlight on reuse
The introduction of reuse to Highlight Carnival of Lights in 2024 increased the resource recovery rate from 71% in 2023 to 80.3% in 2024
