Minimal Waste Initiative at 2025 Asian Fair

It’s been a few months since the big, exciting event happened at Hilde Performance Center in Plymouth on May 31, 2025, yet people are still talking about it and already looking forward to the next one: the Twin Cities West Metro Asian Fair!

Growing the Fair, Growing Responsibility

The Asian Fair has grown tremendously—from about 7,000 attendees in 2023, to 10,000 in 2024, and this year, surpassing 13,000 visitors! It has become a signature cultural celebration, attracting residents and business owners from across the Twin Cities’ west metro area to enjoy the richness of Asian traditions, performances, food, and community connections.

Yet, with such growth comes challenges. A large event of this scale naturally generates significant amounts of waste. ZIRAN recognized this as an opportunity, not only to keep the fairgrounds clean, but to raise public awareness about environmental stewardship and create hands-on education for waste reduction.

Preparation & Volunteer Power

Months before the event, ZIRAN team members visited local schools to deliver environmental education workshops, while also recruiting volunteers for the fair. We created self-training materials for volunteers and sent letters to food vendors encouraging them to use recyclable and compostable serviceware.

On event day, five large Minimal Waste Stations were set up across the fairgrounds, featuring clear signage for Organics, Recycling, and Landfill, plus two specialty bins for paper and plastic bags. (Collecting paper separately helps prevent contamination from food and drink, keeping it truly recyclable.)

Results & Impact

The effort paid off. Together, we successfully diverted:

• 2,080 gallons of mixed recycling

• 960 gallons of organics

That’s a 22.6% increase in waste volume compared to 2024, yet we still achieved a 63.3% diversion rate, up from 60.6% last year. While the percentage increase may seem modest, the sheer volume prevented from going to landfill is remarkable.

Without the hard work of volunteers, these materials would have gone straight into the landfill, like most other local big community events. Instead, the fair became a cleaner, greener celebration and a teaching moment for thousands of community members.

These large, visual signs allowed volunteers to quickly point out instructions and help correct sorting mistakes on the spot.

In total, about 50 volunteers worked in four shifts, guiding fairgoers at the stations. ZIRAN’s core team circulated throughout the grounds to provide additional support.

We also introduced new, step-by-step signage for boba tea disposal, a recurring challenge identified during the January Lunar New Year Celebration at Asia Mall. This innovation allowed volunteers to quickly guide visitors and reduce sorting errors.

At the end of the day, when some food vendors had placed all their waste into black trash bags due to time constraints, dedicated volunteers stepped in to sort through them. To our surprise, much of the material, including compostable items like sugarcane scraps and plastic bottles, had been mistakenly treated as landfill. Thanks to the volunteers’ extra effort, much of these items was recovered as organics and recyclables. Even after the fair ended, sorting continued into the next day to ensure as much waste as possible was properly diverted.

Building Community Through Sustainability

The Minimal Waste Initiative is more than bins and signage—it’s about building shared values. Many fairgoers engaged in meaningful conversations with volunteers, learned how to recycle properly, and even earned “Responsible Recycler” stickers as recognition for their efforts.

ZIRAN also introduced the first-ever Eco Street at the Asian Fair, featuring:

• A solar trailer from the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society

• A Fix-It Clinic

• A mugwort sachet workshop for the Dragon Boat Festival, paired with a talk on herbs by a local Chinese medicine doctor, Dr. Yin

This interactive space gave visitors a chance to explore sustainability from multiple angles: energy, repair, entrepreneurship, cultural tradition, and wellness.

• Two youth eco-entrepreneur groups, Eartha and Rebound

Looking Ahead

Through down-to-earth work and creative engagement, ZIRAN not only kept the fairgrounds cleaner but also planted seeds of environmental awareness in thousands of hearts. The initiative earned widespread respect and support, fostering friendships and collaborations across diverse communities.

The Asian Fair proves that celebration and sustainability can go hand in hand. Together, we can create events that honor cultural heritage while protecting the planet.

We’re already excited for next year—stronger, greener, and even more connected.