Chester Fair This Year Expands On Its Environmental Commitment

CHESTER, CT – When folks gathered in Chester last weekend to enjoy music, eat fried dough, ride a few rides, and check out some animals, they might not have realized they were doing much more.

That's because the Chester Fair, one of many such events in the state this time of year, has an environmental focus regarding waste collection, a quest aided by multiple organizations.

The Chester Fair, which took place Aug. 23-25, is one of two fairs nationally to focus on reducing its environmental impact by creating and adopting a "Zero Waste" program.

It planned to divert as much trash as possible during the event., doing so with financial assistance from Sustainable CT, the Middletown-based Rockfall Foundation, Chester Leadership Trust, and dozens of local private and business donations.

The plan began in 2022, becoming only the second traditional country fair in the U.S. with such a program.

In its first year, 47 percent of the fair’s trash was diverted. In 2023, that total went to 59 percent while 2024's fair was in the same range at a 60 percent diversion.

Kim Price, a member of the board of directors of the Chester Agricultural and Mechanical Society in Chester, leads the coordinated effort and helps recruit 45-60 volunteers each year.

The program focuses on the placement of volunteer-staffed sorting stations in high-traffic areas at the fairgrounds.

Each Station has a food scrap, recycling bin, and a trash bin.

Food scrap bins will accept food of any kind. Next are the recycle bins that accept redeemable cans and bottles, as well as select items. As a last resort, a trash bin is available.

Food vendors are included in the program and close to 90 percent of the service ware they provide (cups, plates, lids, straws, etc) have been converted to either compostable or recyclable items.

Organic composting for the fair was provided by Blue Earth Compost, a Hartford-based company that serves homeowners and businesses by collecting their food scraps for composting.

This year, unstaffed sorting stations were included at the Chester Fairm with fairgoers urged to sort and dispose of their trash properly.

Still, volunteers monitored the unstaffed stations across the entire fairgrounds, putting improperly placed items in the appropriate bins.

With the help and suggestions of both fairgoers and volunteers, the program continues to evolve and improve.

In addition, two water bottle filling stations were also in place to reduce the demand and sale of single-use plastic bottles.

Cups were provided, but the fair posted a fun theme of BYOWB, encouraging fairgoers to: "Bring Your Own Water Bottle."

For more information about volunteering at next year’s Chester Fair, contact Kim Price at kpricechester@gmail.com. For information about Blue Earth’s home composting service, contact Sam King at 860-266-7346.