Creating Eco-Friendly Festivals: Strategies for Effective Waste Diversion
Music festivals are a popular way to enjoy entertainment, socialize and enjoy the outdoors. As many of us know, however, they can also be a significant contributor to waste and pollution, harming the environment. If you have ever walked away from the stage after a concert, you’ll know that there are all sorts of litter on the ground - from crushed beer cans to cigarette butts. In fact, according to Waste360, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival generated 107 TONS of waste each day of the festival in 2017. Luckily, there are many ways to facilitate waste diversion at music festivals. We can preserve the planet and have fun at the same time!
Invest in Proper Waste Management Infrastructure
The first step in encouraging waste diversion is to invest in proper waste management infrastructure. This means setting up recycling and compost bins to make it easy for festivalgoers to dispose of their waste appropriately. The placement and accessibility of trash and recycling bins are essential, and it's best to have them evenly distributed throughout the festival grounds while placing compost bins in food court areas.
It's also critical to have clearly marked bins and signage to guide festivalgoers on what to put where. This will help reduce the amount of contamination in the waste streams and make it more convenient for people to participate in waste diversion practices.
Encourage Sustainability through Vendor Selection
The next step in encouraging waste diversion is to carefully select vendors that align with your environmental values. This can mean sourcing food vendors that use compostable plates, cutlery, and to-go containers, promoting vendors who use environmentally friendly materials, or offering incentives to vendors who make an effort to reduce their waste. All of these tactics can go a long way in promoting sustainability across the festival. Aside from promotion and incentivization, some music festivals are large enough to leverage their influence and set expectations for compostable food ware in their contracts with vendors. Ensuring that environmentally-friendly practices are part of the festival’s expectations for service providers in contracts is a great way to communicate the festival’s environmental priorities upfront.
Educate Festival-Goers regarding Proper Waste Disposal
Education is key in encouraging waste diversion during music festivals. It's essential to educate festival-goers on proper waste disposal techniques so that they understand how to dispose of their waste in a way that minimizes its impact on the environment. Educating festival goers at the entrance, through announcements, and at the point of sale can help promote responsible waste disposal behaviors.
Aside from education around waste disposal practices, festival messaging can bring attendees into the fold. Including sustainability and waste diversion goals in regular messaging can help attendees feel like they are part of a team. Include phrases like “Help us become the first zero-waste festival in Colorado!” or “We want to reduce the amount of waste we send to landfills by 50% this year and you can help!” encourages festival-goers to participate in proper waste disposal. It is likely that some attendees will even hold their friends and other festival-goers accountable if they understand the importance of waste diversion to the festival organizers.
Offer Incentives to Attendees
Another way to encourage waste diversion at music festivals is to offer incentives for festival-goers. For example, discounting drink purchases if the attendee opts to use their own reusable container is a great way to provide savings for attendees that opt for more environmentally friendly options. Austin City Limits Music Festival regularly provides free t-shirts for attendees who pick up recycling around the event. Even small incentives such as reusable water bottles, tote bags, or stickers can create value for participants and promote environmental awareness.
Alternatively, festival organizers may want to ‘flip the script’ and make reuse the default, more affordable option. For example, in 2021, Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival provided reusable steel souvenir cups as part of the ticket package. They included a short description of how to use the cup at the event, including the statement that if a festival-goer did not use their steel cup and opted for a disposable plastic cup, their drink would come with an additional charge for the disposable cup. This not only incentivizes attendees to use the more environmentally friendly option, it includes a small penalty for opting for a less environmentally friendly option.
Partner with Local Recycling and Composting Centers
Collaboration with local recycling or composting organizations is key in diverting waste away from landfills as efficiently as possible. Partnering with these organizations will provide the knowledge and resources necessary to ensure the festival is diverting waste appropriately for the region. Some recycling and compost facilities accept some items, while others do not, and including those items could contaminate the whole batch! For example, some rural areas in Colorado provide limited composting options for residents due to the logistics of hauling heavy compost on mountainous, steep roads with sharp turns. These areas may be served by small, local composting facilities that are often not able to accept compostable plastics or other items because access to industrial compost facilities is limited.
In addition, some recycling and compost providers may be able to provide well-trained personnel to set up waste bins. Larger municipalities may be able to provide waste-to-energy conversion as well, reducing the festival’s overall greenhouse gas footprint. That’s what we call a win-win!
Music festivals can be incredible, memorable experiences while being environmentally conscious. However, it requires planning, knowledge, and commitment to make this a reality. Encouraging waste diversion at a music festival requires proper infrastructure, vendor selection, education, incentives, and partnerships. The effort will lead to not only a more eco-friendly event but also compassion for environmental responsibility for all festival-goers.
