Festival season is upon us! If you’re organising a music festival or are in charge of any environmental aspects of a festival, you’re bound to have a to-do list as long as your arm.
Every year millions of festival goers across the UK gather to enjoy music festivals. But after the parties, are over they leave a massive ecological footprint.
One of the most important things to consider is festival waste management. This includes how you’re going to control the amount of waste created and the clean-up exercise after the festival. Read on to find out more.
Festival Waste Statistics
According to a report prepared by Powerful Thinking, it’s estimated that 23,500 tonnes of waste is produced annually at UK music festivals alone.
Their mission is to promote action through the Festival Vision 2025 for a commitment from festivals in the UK to reach a national target of a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.
The Importance of Festival Waste Management
The importance of waste management at festivals should not be overlooked. The removal and management of waste ensures a clean and healthy environment for festival-goers and the local environment. It can help avoid health and safety hazards and reduces the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.
By ensuring there’s an effective waste management plan in place at festivals, you can maintain a sustainable and enjoyable experience for all your participants whilst minimising the impact of the festival on the environment.
How to Correctly Dispose of Waste At Festivals
To make sure that you’re conducting the most eco-friendly festival possible, there are a few things that you can implement:
1) Use a Temporary Bin Hire Service
A cost-effective way to dispose of all event waste with ease and convenience is to hire a temporary bin service. These can be hired in a variety of sizes, for different types of waste.
By working with a reputable waste disposal company, they can help you keep your event clean and running as smoothly as possible. It’s also great to have on-site recycling facilities at your event to showcase your awareness of responsible waste management.
2) Segregate Different Types of Waste
It’s important to make sure your recycling points have clear signage so that your festivalgoers know where they can dispose of their waste.
Make sure you have numerous recycling points throughout the venue to prevent littering. We recommend different bins for plastic, glass, and food waste so that the likelihood of littering is reduced.
By segregating different types of waste, these can easily be collected, disposed and recycled correctly – instead of all ending up in landfill.
3) Organise Waste Collections Throughout The Event
To keep on top of waste, it’s important to arrange regular waste collections using reliable and responsible companies throughout the event. This will help to prevent littering if bins aren’t overflowing.
As soon as festivalgoers notice there’s no space left, they may feel that they have no option but to use the wrong bins or to litter their waste throughout the venue.
4) Implement a Festival Waste Management Plan
The best way to promote a clean and safe festival is to implement a festival waste management plan. This includes arranging recycling points with clearly defined bins and ensuring that there’s clear signage throughout the venue.
We also recommend arranging litter picking as an ongoing task as part of your plan. Festivalgoers are less likely to litter if they see people picking up rubbish. And if the event is clean, they will be reluctant to dispose of waste improperly.
5) Strive for a Zero Waste Event
Prior to the event taking place, ensure that your marketing promotes the event as zero waste. Encourage festivalgoers to reduce the amount of packaging and plastic they bring with them and offer incentives for people to reuse bottles and cups.
It’s also vitally important to speak to any vendors attending the festival to get them onboard with your vision. Ask them to bring biodegradable packaging rather than plastic or polystyrene packaging.
You don’t want to stop your festivalgoers from having fun. But you can promote a cleaner and healthier venue by implementing a waste management plan and remembering your responsibilities to the local environment.