ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Food vendors come from across the country to do business at the Lilac Festival. 

Danny Lanzer's company is based out of Ohio, but they came from Memphis to Rochester for this year's festivities. 

What You Need To Know

  • People from across the country come to town for the Lilac Festival

  • Food vendors struggle estimating how much food to prepare for an unknown number of people

  • A 2019 Beyond Food Report says about of third of event organizers admit to throwing away at least 15% of the food they prepare at events

  • Monroe County is partnering with Casella Waste Systems and Impact Earth to provide food scrap compost bins to each food vendor at the Lilac Festival this year
  • One food vendor this year says the compost bins are being mistaken for trash bins

"We set up a booth, doing the prep work, the cooking, the serving. Come the last day, we are cleaning, tearing down and driving to the next one,” Lanzer explained.

One of the hardest parts of being a traveling food vendor is estimating how much food to prepare for an unknown amount of people. 

"It’s basically not on a static formula," Lanzer said. "It’s mostly on experience. We look at the lineup of the bands, we know when it’s going to be a busy evening, a slower evening. We consider the weather. We consider the day of the week [and] the hours. And we are usually, at the end of the day, we have a very minimal disposal of items which we trash out."

He and his team know what they're doing, but a 2019 Beyond Food study reports that about a third of event organizers admit to throwing away at least 15% of the food they prepare at events. That's why Monroe County is partnering with Casella Waste Systems and Impact Earth to provide a food scraps compost bin for every food vendor at the Lilac festival this year. 

“So each food vendor’s actually being provided this year a tote where they can dispose of any food waste that they have during the day and at the end of every day," said Monroe County Executive Adam Bello during the festival's opening ceremonies. "This food waste will then properly be disposed of and recycled again returning nutrients to the earth."

“It’s helpful. The recycling, the waste, the waste for us, it doesn’t matter if you throw it over there, but I prefer to know that there is a different use to what I’m disposing [of]. I think it’s a very good idea,” Lanzer said.

However, there is one problem that remains. Lanzer thinks the public can't tell the difference between the compost bins and the trash cans. 

“I believe they were designated, this one for us and this for them, but in the evening, those people have a line going here and they all consider it is trash,” Lanzer explained.

Lanzer grew up in Israel with a family that recycles regularly. The lack of signage disappoints him and he wishes there was more to differentiate the bins for the public. 

“I believe it will get better and better every year and probably the people who handle it will understand, Casella, at the end of the experience will do some type of thought and see what things they can do better,” he said.

All of it is being done with the hope of a successful summer filled with festivities around Monroe County.