6 Ways You Can Be a Greener Festival Goer This Summer

Festivals are notorious for their litter and waste, but they can also be a huge source of carbon emissions. Festivals can reduce their footprint by using renewable energy to power their lights, sound systems and catering outlets.

They can also encourage their audience to travel greener by offering free or discounted public transport passes and making car parking a premium.

1. Travel Greener to Festivals

With the majority of festival goers identifying that global warming is personally important, festivals are implementing a range of green initiatives. This shift in sustainability thinking is shifting how people attend and organise their music events too.

Travel to and from the event accounts for up to 80% of a festival’s carbon footprint, so making simple changes is key. Taking a shuttle bus, carpooling or even biking to your next music festival will reduce CO2 emissions. Some festivals also offer discounted ticket prices for those arriving on trains - which are even more eco-friendly than your regular motorway coach!

The biggest source of waste at a festival is disposable tableware and plastic cups, so bring your own reusables. You can also bring a refillable water bottle and avoid buying single-use drinks. Donate your used items to charity. Many festivals have donation bins so perfectly usable items can find a new home rather than in landfill.

Many of the UK’s most popular festivals are held in pristine natural locations and preserving these areas is crucial for sustainability. Reducing waste and energy is key to ensuring that these beautiful venues can remain for generations to come.

2. Be Zero Waste at Festivals

Whether it’s a music festival or a foodie event, zero waste is key. Minimizing waste starts with the vendors and participants that are attending the event. Ensure all vendors are using sustainable serviceware such as compostable cutlery, cups, and napkins. This includes checking the product’s labelling as some products are misleading and may not be fully compostable.

Educating your guests about how to reduce their plastic usage is essential. Include a sustainability guide with the e-invites sent out or post on your social media, and provide information on the venue’s recycling/composting bins. Ensure the different bins are clearly marked and easily accessible.

Make sure waste stations are placed in areas where the most rubbish is produced, such as near food/eating stalls and any camping facilities. Also consider placing general waste, glass and plastic recycling, and dry mixed recycling bins close to each other for effective station management.

Keep in mind that any rubbish left unattended can blow away or be picked up by wildlife, and will end up offsite polluting local water, ground, air and potentially affecting wildlife. It only takes one piece of litter to cause an environmental impact, so be sure to take your waste with you when you leave!

3. Use The Correct Bins

Festivals are a great way to get a good dose of music and fun with friends but they do leave a lot of waste behind, from tents that have been abandoned to rubbish that has been dumped on the ground. To reduce these negative environmental impacts festival organisers are starting to implement greener policies and it’s up to attendees to use their reusable bottles and follow the sustainable guidelines that have been put in place.

One of the biggest contributors to the litter at music festivals comes from single-use plastic, which can be easily prevented by bringing along reusable water bottles and rain ponchos for the duration of the event. Some festivals, such as Glastonbury, have even banned single-use plastic water bottles.

Another great way to reduce the amount of trash at events is by separating recycling types in large bins and providing these around the site. These bins can be used to recycle metal cans, plastic bottles, dry paper and straws as well as Styrofoam and napkins. To make this more accessible for attendees, festival organisers should provide clearly marked trash, recycling and compost bins and have them in easily-accessible places.

Other simple ways to reduce your environmental impact at events include carpooling to get to and from the festival. Many festivals offer carpooling options through their ticketing systems, or you can find passengers through sites such as GoCarShare and Red Fox Cycling.

4. Wash Greener!

As awareness of sustainability grows, music festival organizers have responded with innovative solutions that reduce their impact. For example, some festivals use solar-powered stages and charging stations to halve their reliance on diesel generators. Others are implementing eco-friendly waste management programs including compostable toilets and banning single-use plastics. Others are promoting public transportation and restricting car parking to cut out vehicle emissions.

Single-use beverage cups are a major source of festival landfill waste. Some promoters are partnering with companies like r.Cup to switch over to washable reusable cups that can be used multiple times, and then cleaned at a local facility. Some even run competitions to award the most sustainable camping spots on site, with prizes like wristbands, concert tickets and camping gear.

Another simple solution is to skip the washing machine and do your laundry on site using a greywater system, which uses chemical-free soap flakes to wash clothes and then buckets the clean water before it gets sent into wastewater systems. The water is then reused for gardening, which helps to reduce the amount of freshwater used.

Finally, to reduce the need for disposable wet wipes, bring some organic cotton ones from Pits and Bits or Ethical Superstore that can be used over and over again (just make sure you put them in your can specific recycling, not general waste!). You can also wash with a full-body spray from Ethical Showers, which is also biodegradable.

5. No Fast Festival Fashion

Festivals are renowned for their fashion-forward outfits, but it is important to remember that clothing comes with a significant environmental impact. From the extraction of raw materials to the transportation of products, each stage of the garment’s lifecycle has a direct impact on our planet. This is why it is so important to avoid fast fashion when putting together your festival wardrobe.

It’s best to look for a style of clothing that can be worn in different ways or recycled after the event. For example, you could invest in some versatile denim shorts that can be worn as jeans and reworked into a skirt or dress. Another great option is to buy second hand or vintage clothes, as this reduces the amount of new clothes being produced and helps support a more ethically-sourced industry.

Popular accessories like glitter and glow sticks are also festival staples but it is important to resist the temptation. Glitter is made of aluminium and PET plastic which can cause harm to marine wildlife, as well as clogging up water systems. A good alternative is to opt for a biodegradable version of the sparkly stuff or use a non-toxic stain.

It’s also a great idea to keep your look simple, rather than over accessorise. A simple and flattering bodysuit or dress will allow you to stay comfortable while enjoying your favorite musicians. Avoid catsuits and rompers, as they can be difficult to get in and out of. Similarly, keep thigh-grazing pieces to a minimum, as they can restrict blood flow and lead to dehydration.

6. Leave No Trace & Take Your Tent Home

The world is moving away from fossil fuels and more towards renewable energy sources and festival organisers are getting in on the action. Using renewable energy for festival power isn’t just a good idea it can also help to reduce the carbon footprint of the event!

A great example is the Coachella festival in the USA, which gets attendees involved with their own energy use and charging. The 'Energy Playground’ allows attendees to charge their phones using the movement of a giant see-saw that converts kinetic energy into electricity!

Festivals can create a lot of waste and the best way to limit this is by bringing reusables! This includes repackaging your own food and bringing reusable cups, plates and utensils. You can also bring your own reusable water bottle (preferably with a carabiner so you don’t lose it!) and even a stainless steel travel mug for your beer!

One of the largest contributors to trash at festivals is tents that are discarded and left behind. A fantastic innovation from Dutch designers Wout kommer and Jan portheine is their 'kartent' cardboard tent which is 100% recyclable! It even has a small window to let in air and keep your tent fresh! This is an awesome alternative to the cheap tents aimed at festival goers that are usually made of plastic and will easily break when left behind in the elements.