Festivals are getting much better at encouraging sustainability these days, which is just as well given the huge amount of waste generated by the average event. Indeed, UK festivals are responsible for 25,800 tonnes of waste each year – and only a third of it is reused or recycled. But there’s only so much that festival organisers can do to make sure they’re kinder to the environment – the rest is down to us as festival-goers. Here’s what you can do to have an eco-friendly festival season.
Before you go
Sustainability starts at home, so it’s worth reading up on what will be available at the festival site to help you keep waste to a minimum. For example, if you know there’s a tap where you can refill your water bottle, you can avoid using single-use plastic bottles; if not, it pays to know where on site you’ll be able to find the recycling points. You could take your own coffee cup, too, which saves using single-use ones at coffee stands (you might even get a discount for doing so!).
A bit of planning will also help reduce the amount of waste you accumulate on the festival site. For example, plan to take your own cutlery and crockery to avoid using disposable ones, and pack washing up liquid and a tea towel so that you can wash and reuse them. Take a bar of soap and a flannel so that you don’t have to rely on wet wipes, which often aren’t biodegradable.
You could also think about what you can borrow instead of buying new. Can a friend lend you their camping equipment, for example? It’s a much better option than the cheap (to all intents and purposes disposable) ‘festival tents’ you might see marketed – we’ll come back to those later! If you can’t get hold of a tent from a friend, there are companies that make recyclable tents designed for festivals, or you may be able to rent a tent via the festival organisers.
The same goes for clothing; taking a waterproof jacket that you already own (and can use again) is better than opting for a disposable poncho. If you’re looking for some new outfits, purchasing them from pre-loved platforms is a more sustainable choice for festival fashion. And, if you’re convinced that a festival isn’t a festival without glitter, be sure to opt for biodegradable glitter so that you’re not inadvertently shedding microplastics into the soil!
Getting There
Consider how you can get to the festival in the most environmentally friendly way possible. If you’re attending with friends, for example, can you all share a car? Alternatively, can you reach the festival site by public transport? Many festivals will operate shuttle buses to the site from nearby train or bus stations, and bigger ones may have coaches running from larger cities, so it’s worth looking into.
Recycling on site
By the time you arrive, you’ll already have brushed up on what recycling facilities are available, but take a moment to familiarise yourself with where they’re located. Keep a cardboard box or bag by your tent for collecting up recycling, so you can dispose of it all in one go. Cigarette butts are a major litter problem for festivals, so make sure these go in the general rubbish bins (once they’re definitely put out!).
Take your tent home!
We can’t stress this enough, so we’ll say it again: take your tent home! Abandoned tents are a huge issue for festivals and for the environment, with an estimated 250,000 of them discarded at UK festivals each year, and 2,300 of them left behind at Reading Festival alone last year.
Each tent is the equivalent of around 8,750 plastic straws, and while some are donated to causes such as the refugee camps in France, not all of them can be. Unfortunately, because they’re so difficult to recycle, they are often destined for landfill or incineration. Take yours home ready to use again for another festival or camping trip – or to lend to a friend for theirs!
