This year’s Green Mountain Energy Earth Day celebration saw near-record attendance, with almost 30,000 people gathering at Discovery Green on Saturday, April 19 to enjoy beautiful spring weather and environmentally focused programming.
Building on its mission of sustainability, the event once again met its ambitious Zero Waste goal—diverting over 90% of waste from landfills—even as it saw an unprecedented volume of waste collected throughout the day.
Among the day’s highlights was Squonk’s Brouhaha performances presented in partnership with Houston First. The performances featured a 30-foot-tall spectacle called a “squonkcordian” – an instrument that required the crowd’s interaction. Groups of eager children hung on ropes to make the music happen.
“Squonk’s Brouhaha was a fantastical and fun experience. The interaction really brought home the event’s theme of Our Power, Our Planet,” said Discovery Green Conservancy President Kathryn Lott. “Every one of us has the power to change the planet, even more so when we work together. We proved that as a community by coming together to achieve Zero Waste at this year’s Green Mountain Energy Earth Day.”
Houston Public Works Director Randy Macchi accepted a proclamation declaring April 19 as Water Works Festival 2025 Day. The proclamation was presented by Council Members Joaquin Martinez, Edward Pollard and Letitia Plummer on behalf of Mayor John Whitmire. Houston Public Works and Discovery Green joined forces for Earth Day beginning in 2023, growing the event into Houston’s largest Earth Day celebration and the only to achieve zero waste status.
Attendees also enjoyed conversation with Green Mountain Energy Sun Club Grant Recipients. Sun Club grants foster greener communities by funding sustainability projects for nonprofits. The chats highlighted work by Houston nonprofits including Alzheimer’s Association, Finca Tres Robles / Small Places, Houston Furniture Bank, Recipe For Success, Silambam Houston and Willow Waterhole.
Visitors perused awareness-raising graphic art created by students of Dr. Natacha Poggio at University of Houston – Downtown, while fifty exhibitors engaged visitors with hands-on activities highlighting their organization’s sustainability missions. Children enjoyed crafts, live art and musical performances in the kids’ zone courtesy of Houston Public Works.
Attendees generated almost 5,000 pounds of waste as they visited the food trucks and picnicked in Discovery Green throughout the day. More than 200 volunteers and students directed by Zero Waste Houston and Citizens Environmental Coalition, collected, sorted and weighed the trash.
Leo Brito, founder of Zero Waste Houston said the challenge was the trash came from many different sources. Attendees brought food from home and purchased items from food trucks. He credited the team of experts at Citizens’ Environmental Coalition, the volunteers and event organizers at Discovery Green for the success.
“Unlike other events where the discards are contained and plans can be made, this event does not allow us to make upstream changes. Therefore, a deep knowledge of what is actually recyclable and compostable is a must,” Brito said. “Truthfully, the challenge has brought about an outstanding opportunity to synergize and set an example that it IS possible… it CAN be done.”
Despite the volume of trash only 9.98 percent of the waste was sent to a landfill, the rest was diverted to composting and recycling. The Environmental Protection Agency defines an event as Zero Waste if at least 90 percent is kept from a landfill. The Green Mountain Energy Earth Day event first achieved Zero Waste in 2024. However, this year even more waste was diverted from the landfill.
Discovery Green would like to thank this year’s sponsors, Green Mountain Energy, Houston First, Houston Public Works and Port Houston along with community partners Citizens’ Environmental Coalition, Zero Waste Houston and University of Houston-Downtown for making Green Mountain Energy Earth Day a success.
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