When my friend Norma sent me the following, I can’t explain my reaction – joy & excitement quickly followed by angst & frustration. I never want to become the green shrew but it’s getting to the point where big events almost make me sick.  No matter how great the cause (and in some cases it is for what I would call a “green” cause), the cases of plastic bottles, the garbage cans full of paper or styro-foam plates & cups and the plastic knives and forks start giving me the vapors.  Drama intended.  All I see are landfills, floating gyros in the ocean and baby birds dieing from being fed plastic bottle caps. Enough already.

So check this out and tell me it can’t be done!

Tales of the Cocktail® Plans Green
Initiatives for 2011

Recycling, composting and a green cocktail
book will help to reduce the waste at this year’s international cocktail
festival.

Once again Tales of the Cocktail® is taking measures to significantly reduce the amount of waste created by the five-day festival. This
year, Tales of the Cocktail® is partnering with The Recycling Foundation to recycle all the glass, cardboard and the 100,000 recyclable tasting cups that will composted. For the third year, all citrus will be composted and donated courtesy of 360 Vodka to the Hollygrove Market, a community-based urban farm in New Orleans. And for the second year, the annual Tales of the Cocktail® recipe
book will be electronic, completely eliminating the need for paper and shipping. (Mrs. Green’s comment: Are you kidding me right now?)

“We have always been very conscious of how our festival impacts our community from an ecological standpoint,” said Ann Tuennerman, founder of Tales of the Cocktail®. “As we continue to grow, it has become even more crucial that we find new ways to reduce waste.”

“As the world’s only sustainable vodka, 360 Vodka is proud to lead one of the most rewarding roles at Tales of the Cocktail®, focusing on the four important Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle and rethink,” said Vic Morrison, Vice President of Marketing, Earth Friendly Distilling Company, makers of 360 Vodka.” The used produce and materials we collect during Tales of the Cocktail® will become rich, healthy soil, which we believe is the ultimate drink we can ever make Mother Earth.”

You can visit their website at www.talesofthecocktail.com. Who said living green can’t be FUN?  Not me…

And you will be hearing more about this event on green talk radio – where it all began for me.