Member Spotlight

Witty Gritty

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Witty Gritty believes that civic engagement is the key to equitable and stronger communities and neighborhoods. To foster that engagement, they create experiences and events that blend creativity and authenticity to leave a lasting impression. They believe in the power of storytelling, applying multimedia techniques, to share compelling narratives that engage and inspire.

Why did you become a member?

Witty Gritty became a member because we recognize the opportunity we have to be stewards of zero-waste event efforts. Our work sits in the intersection of engagement and events. Working with many neighborhoods and communities in Philadelphia and producing a high volume of events, we recognize that we can do better. We love Circular Philadelphia’s approach including members from the individual level to businesses and corporations of all sizes to contribute to the circular economy and we want to be an active participant.

What does a circular economy mean to your organization?

Circular economy is primarily two-fold for us: reduce/eliminate waste at events by encouraging our clients to join us in this commitment and find ways for resource and vendor sharing across events. We, admittedly, want to also be better educated in circular economy efforts and help spread the word so people can understand the impact of sharing resources and reducing waste doesn’t have to mean more effort or money. If we all participate and contribute, the better off we are and, in fact, there is cost savings and more efficiency in the end!

How is your organization practicing circularity?

We are making a commitment to more intentionally practice circularity in the new year and moving forward. We plan to issue a zero-waste event checklist and will guide our clients through this at the start of each event/project. We plan to coordinate with like-minded vendors, especially those in higher-waste generating sectors – primarily catering and printing. And we want to strive for producing as many (close to) zero-waste events with partners and clients. Lastly, we’d love to encourage those who run smaller event community spaces to join zero-waste efforts with our help via a toolkit.

How can others advance the circular economy?

Specifically in the event-related space, challenge yourself to create the least possible waste. If it feels daunting, break it down:

• Ask your caterer to give you all reusable platters and serving utensils
• Use a service like r.World to reduce single use cup waste
• If you need signage, keep it digital or, for printed, think of more eco-friendly alternatives (foamcore no more!)
• Make a plan for left over food – for donation or for attendees to takeaway in Eco-friendly reusable or compostable containers