DEL MAR -- The San Diego County Fair is largely about consumption -- thousands of bottles of water, soda cups, straws, paper baskets and napkins get tossed out every hour that the fair is open each day -- but it is also about conservation and recycling.

Visitors need only look a short distance in any direction to spot a bright blue recycling bin. And while some people think they are only for cans and bottles, anything paper, plastic or aluminum can be placed there.

"If it's recyclable, we recycle it," said Gary Reist, chief of operations for the fairgrounds. Reist said three shifts of workers labor around the clock gathering, sorting and recycling the items. "We challenge ourselves every year to do better than we did last year."

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Officials say the Del MarFairgrounds recycled or sent to compost 25,480 tons of material last year, while only sending to landfill 1,843 tons of waste.

"Recycling is a large part of the year-round resource conservation program at the Del Mar Fairgrounds," Nancy Strauss, research conservation specialist for the fairgrounds, wrote in an e-mail. "We can proudly say that we recycle more than 93 percent of the solid waste that is produced here on the grounds,"

Employees, who are reminded to turn off lights when not in use, say that energy conservation is also "top of mind" and that the first thing general manager Tim Fennell asks at the weekly fair meeting is "How much energy did we use last week?"

In 2002, the fairgrounds installed a photovoltaic (solar) system that is capable of producing one megawatt of power on a bright, sunny day -- that's about one-sixth of the power the fair demands. In 2008, the fairgrounds solar energy system was up more than 14 percent, generating a total of 1,375,668 kilowatt hours of clean, renewable energy, according to Strauss.

"This year, we completed a lighting retrofit of the exhibit halls and backside barns at the fairgrounds and horse park, which will save 800,000 kilowatt hours per year," Reist said.

"As a result of the combined efforts, the fairgrounds main electrical meter shows a reduction of 10 percent or 926,226 KWh, saving approximately $152,395 in 2008," Strauss wrote in an e-mail.

Other "green" efforts by the fairgrounds include the use of reclaimed water for a large part of the irrigation systems, and their potable water usage was down by 21 percent in 2008, "saving an estimated 9,319,332 gallons of drinking water."

The fairgrounds also has a worm farm where fruit and vegetable cuttings produce compost.

One very visible "green" feature is the O'Brien Stage just to the left of the main entrance -- which has gone completely solar.

"It's great," said Stephen Fingers as he and his wife, Susan, watched Latin guitarists perform Sunday afternoon on the stage, sponsored by Southcoast Energy. "The less energy they can use the better."

The couple added that they have been thinking of installing solar panels on their Encinitas home and that they are impressed at how "unobtrusive" the solar system for the stage is and that "people would hardly notice" if it weren't for the signage.

Visitors can also make their way to the infield where there is an area devoted to organic gardening, hydroponics, water conservation demonstrations and a "good bug, bad bug" display.

Skyler Allanson of Encinitas staffed the Buzz on Bugs tent and was happy to tell people about which bugs to kill, which to save, and how to do both in an environmentally safe way.

He said the best way to kill the bad bugs is with other bugs, and the second choice would be plain soap and water.

"People really don't need to use insecticides and what they don't realize is they are killing off the good bugs and ultimately the plants they are trying to save," Allanson said.

"This is awesome for educating people and especially the kids coming through here and learning how to grow their own food and take care of the Earth," said Vicki Ardoin of San Diego who was out in the "green" area checking out the various booths.

San Diego resident Paul Hastert agreed.

"I'm interested in growing a garden, saving water, all that good stuff," he said.