Green Initiative at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds
Mission
The Dutchess County Agricultural Society, Inc. (DCAS) seeks to continually
reduce the environmental impact of its activities on a local, regional
and global level.
Environmental stewardship is implicit in the DCAS' 162-year commitment to preserving, promoting and protecting the agricultural integrity of the Dutchess County Fair and all events held at the Fairgrounds. In making explicit its commitment to protect and enhance the environment through its stewardship of the Fairgrounds facilities and events, the DCAS incorporates environmentally sound practices into the stated, core values of the Fairgrounds.
Green Initiative
To carry out its environmental stewardship mission, the Dutchess County
Agricultural Society is undertaking a multi-year, phased Green Initiative
to make the entire 168-acre site and all its facilities environmentally
sustainable.
2008 Goals of the Green Initiative
In the first year of the Green Initiative, the DCAS expects to conduct
its long-range sustainability planning while at the same time move forward
to make several demonstrable changes in its operations. The goals of
the program in 2008 are to make substantive, noticable changes in the
following areas:
- Cleaning Chemicals and Procedures: The Fairgrounds plans to switch to environmentally preferable alternatives to traditional cleaning products and practices used in restroom and kitchen facilities.
- Lighting: The Fairgrounds plans to begin a phased program to install low-mercury fluorescent tubes and compact bulbs in its buildings.
- Paper Products: The Fairgrounds plans to begin a program to phase out the use of virgin paper products for food service and printing, moving instead to products that are biodegradable and/or contain increasing percentages of post-consumer paper.
- Recycling: The Fairgrounds plans to expand its recycling program, with installation of improved recycling bins for bottles and non-food-contaminated paper products and plastics. Read more about our Recycling Program.
