Stand and deliver

Temporary shows are all well and good, but often "temporary" has been interpreted to mean "disposable". What happens to the stands, stalls and displays after an event ends? The Telegraph reported yesterday that Chelsea Flower Show has been taking steps to minimise waste:

"The move to ensure gardens go on to new lives is all part of a wider policy at Chelsea to reduce the show's carbon footprint, which is being measured for the first time... Some 85 per cent of all waste material generated by exhibitors and visitors, including packaging and food waste, is recycled and 90 per cent of gardens go on to new lives. Most show gardens take back plants to garden centres, donate them to charity or sell them on."

One garden is being sold on Ebay, hooray. In a similar vein PSFK reported two days ago on an inspired trade show booth that embodies cradle-to-cradle design:

"Harlem-based Kikkerland Design has been producing unique objects since 1992. At this year’s ICFF, it wasn’t so much what they had displayed that was getting all the attention, but the display itself. Kikkerland purchased 3000 cans of Campbell’s soup from local NYC supermarkets and built their booth out of them. At the conclusion of the show on Tuesday afternoon, all the cans were stacked on pallets and donated to City Harvest, a nonprofit food rescue organization that picks up excess food from restaurants, caterers, cafeterias, and other suppliers, then delivers it to emergency food programs."