Climate Advocates Bennington Honors Southwestern Vermont Chamber with 2025 Environmental Leadership Award
Climate Advocates Bennington (CAB) honored Mikaela Lewis and Matt Harrington of the Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce with the 2025 Environmental Leadership Award during the Bennington Rotary Club luncheon on Friday, November 21st. The luncheon was held at the Charlie Boyle Carriage Barn and welcomed members of the Compost Committee of the Solid Waste Alliance, as well as volunteers involved with multiple composting efforts throughout Bennington County in 2025.
Leading up to the Chamber’s annual Garlic Town Festival, longtime volunteer and member of the Compost Committee Marsh Hudson-Knapp and Scott Grimm-Lyon of the Bennington County Solid Waste Alliance (BCSWA) worked with Event Manager Mikaela Lewis and event Compost Captain Kathy Sollien to implement various new vendor regulations and establish the mutual goal of becoming a completely zero-waste event within the next three years.
The Chamber, in collaboration with the Compost Committee, announced a major achievement in this ongoing commitment to move towards a zero waste future after the latest event held on August 30th. During the 2025 Garlic Town Festival, the over 6,700 attendees generated roughly 3,450 pounds of waste — with an extraordinary 88% of that waste being completely diverted from the landfill through composting and recycling efforts.
The final statistics provided by Casella Waste Systems reveal that only about one ounce of waste per attendee ultimately went to the landfill. “This boils down to roughly the size of a one-inch piece of bread,” remarked Marsh Hudson-Knapp of the Compost Committee. “I can hardly believe we did it, and to all of you in this room who were part of this effort, your community honors you!”
During the luncheon, Hudson-Knapp continued the presentation of additional volunteer recognition including awards of outstanding service given to Dr. Dick Dundas, Kathy Sollien, Kelli Timbrook and Joe Maguire of Casella Waste Systems, and Paula Kamperman of BCSWA. Young Leadership Awards were also given to Immen Maguire, Alayna Maguire, Brady Sampson, and McKinley Keaffaber for their volunteerism during Garlic Town and the Bennington Food Truck Festival.
“The Chamber and Garlic Town are honored to be recognized for our work in moving toward zero-waste, which certainly wouldn’t be possible without the dedication and resources provided by our compost partners who help us make it all happen,” said Mikaela Lewis, event manager for the Chamber. “Garlic Town has long been a beloved tradition in our community for three decades, and by evolving this festival toward this zero-waste model, we honor its legacy while ensuring it leaves a positive impact on our environment. This is how we keep Vermont green, by celebrating our traditions responsibly and sustainably for generations to come.”
Matt Harrington, executive director of the Southwestern Vermont Chamber added, “Part of Bennington’s Garlic event for over 30 years has always had some element of sustainability and “greenness” to it. It’s part of its agricultural roots! We know that the leaders before us would be proud of this accomplishment and would encourage us to keep moving forward in this effort. Mikaela and her volunteers have done a fantastic job leading this effort and we thank them for their focus, rigor and attention to detail!”
The Chamber and the Compost Committee of the Solid Waste Alliance plan to build on this momentum as they continue working together toward a more sustainable, waste-conscious future of events throughout the region.
