by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
2500 cows, 250 T-Rex, 200 elephants, 20 Space Shuttles, or 15 Blue Whales. That is rather heavy, isn't it? And a load of rubbish that does not have to be.
June 2017 – An 800-strong clean-up crew descended on the Glastonbury site following the exit of 200,000 revelers, to tackle around 1,650 tons of waste – the most extensive cleanup effort in history!
Those 1,650 tons of waste include:
- 5,000 abandoned tents
- 6,500 sleeping bags
- 400 gazebos
- 54 tons of cans and plastic bottles
- 41 tons of cardboard
- 66 tons of scrap metal
- 3,500 airbeds
- 2,200 chairs
- 950 rolled mats
But it doesn't need to be this way:
For campers & attendees, why not consider the following:
- Only pack what is absolutely essential - Remember to only take the bare minimum
- Take home the tent - clean it up and save it for another festival, recycle it or donate to a homeless or refugee charity.
- Put your rubbish in bins and recycle points
- Bring reusable cutlery, crockery and cups
- Share transport or use public transport
Food & drink providers can support the environment through:
- Use biodegradable cups and food containers
- Implement recycling rewards for customers such as half price drink in exchange for 20 recycled cups
- Bring compost bins and recycling facilities
- Give discount to those carrying and using their own reusable cups
While the festival season is slowly coming to an end for this year with the next two big ones being the Reading and Leeds festivals which will be finishing off this summer of music, I would like to ask both attendees and merchants to actively consider their impact on the environment, by making small changes. Together we can all make a big change. It is not rocket science.
© 2017
