ARE FESTIVALS A LOAD OF RUBBISH?
1st March 2016
Are festivals a load of rubbish?
Did you know that 23,500 tonnes of waste is created by festivals in the UK each year?
Festivals have become popular tourist destinations with thousands upon thousands of people attending them. The waste that has accumulated at them has had detrimental impacts on the wildlife, soil and landscape appearance as well as other things so it is important that we, event managers make an effort to try and counteract waste production to minimise these impacts. Several festivals up and down the country have put initiatives in place to manage and minimise the impacts of waste at them. Here are a few examples:
All these initiatives have been put in place to reduce the impacts of waste but it is only the start of how effectively we can manage it. The issue that surrounds this is all stakeholders need to be on board for this to happen.
This can prove a challenge for festivals as most of the staff are short term, traders or contractors and so are not directly connected to the business, therefore may not share the same values and thoughts on waste management.
It is believed that to ensure a successful festival all the stakeholders should be agreed on the benefits, aims, vision and purpose of it. This can be as simple as making sure we communicate what we intend to do about waste as part of a waste management plan, all stakeholders are aware of this and the environmental commitments they must make to comply with our policies. This can be done very simply by including it as a clause in their contracts or engaging them to communicate with us about the policies we have planned to make sure they understand and are on board.
The initiatives do not have to be that drastic either as long as the policies are communicated well among all stakeholders. The Shambala festival banned the sale of plastic bottles completely and initiated a ‘Bring Your Own Bottle’ scheme. This encouraged attendees and the crew to bring their own bottle and fill it up using the free water taps dotted around the site. From just doing this:
All stakeholders complied with the sale of no plastic and it was a success.
As well as all stakeholders being on board so should all us event managers.
Do you think it should be COMPULSORY to have a minimum standard of waste management initiatives in place at our events?
Or is this acceptable throughout the campsite?
The problem is we don’t have a COMPULSORY minimum standard within our industry. There is legislation which is standard across all industries about waste disposal but not specific to our industry. It is believed that the events management field is an emerging profession due to the lack of professional accreditations and certifications needed to be able to practice in our field however; it is also believed that there may be a rise in professionalism due to the growth in research in our sector.
If there is not a COMPULSORY minimum standard in our industry how can we expect all of us to comply and how can we further professionalise our industry?
Despite the lack of COMPULSORY minimum standards there have been a few guides published for good practice on the sustainability of events, most with a focus on waste management at festivals as well as other types of events. One very good guide is:
Julies Bicycle Practical Guide: Waste Management at Outdoor Events – http://www.juliesbicycle.com/files/Julies-Bicycle-Waste-Management-at-Outdoor-Events-2015.pdf
Waste is the most noticeable negative impact at events, especially festivals through the sheer volume of it! If we can implement waste management initiatives this can be reduced, event manager image enhanced and potentially seen as a more professional industry.
Visitors are as much stakeholders as everyone else, without them events wouldn’t happen. Visitor behaviour whilst at a festival can effect waste management. If the festival site is tidy visitors may be more likely to keep it that way and dispose of their waste in the correct places. It is important that us, the event managers make sure there are ample bins around the site to increase the likelihood of visitors disposing of their waste in the bins or areas provided. A survey conducted by A Greener Festival confirms this as over 80% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they would separate their rubbish into the appropriate bins if they were there.
All stakeholders whether that be contractors, traders, visitors or event managers have a degree of responsibly for waste management and implementing waste management initiatives. The amount of waste from a festival can be easily decreased by simple measures being put in place and communicated to all involved. The future of the events industry lies in our hands; let’s not ‘waste’ it.
Be responsible for YOUR EVENTS. Be responsible for YOUR WORLD. Be responsible for YOU.
Do you believe all stakeholders are responsible for contributing to waste management at festivals and other events?
Do you think there should be a compulsory minimum standard in the events industry for waste management?
Tweet us @greenfestevents or comment below
Image Source: The Author
It would be hard to police a minimum standard for events. I think it comes down to the moral compass of each organisation; profit vs the environment.
Hi Billy,
Thanks for your comment. There are loads of events in the UK so I agree it would be very time consuming and relatively hard initially to try and police all events but do you think if event managers became more educated about the issues of their festivals in terms of waste management they may be more compliant with an industry standard?
Also if they were very efficient in managing their waste that they actually saved money by sending less to landfill?
The article provides a lot of very useful information. It gives you a insight into what goes on behind a festival and makes you think how you can help the environment. Also, I like how you have used techniques such as: capital letters and using shocking pictures to get your important message across.
Thanks for taking the time to comment Hattie. This was my intention to make people think. Sometimes I think when reading off a screen people can get lost or bored reading everything so its good to know it kept you engaged!
Whose responsibility do you think it is for managing waste at festivals?
I believe it is the people who go to festivals responsibility to clean up after themselves. As long as the festivals provide the bins for waste, it is our duty to make sure we keep festivals as waste free as possible.
Thank you Hattie, glad to see your on board! I think everyone at a festival has a responsibility, they wouldn’t for example, drop their rubbish on the floor at home so why do it at a festival!
Very interesting read. I believe its a very good idea to have compulsory minimum standards in our industry. This may take awhile to implement but will definitely be worth it.
Thanks you Daisy. Yes I agree I think it will take a while but it will benefit our industry in the long run.
This is a very interesting article raising important issues we are still aiming to overcome. I agree that more guides and better promotion needs to be incorporated in society as this could help contribute towards enforcing compulsory minimum standards.
Hi Stephanie, thanks for commenting. Do you have any ideas on how we could promote it more, to help enforce compulsory minimum standards?
This was very interesting, I hadn’t really thought about this effect that festivals have on the environment!
I think the reading/Leeds festivals charging a 10p or 20p deposit for plastic bottles and cups is a good idea but I think it should be more! Not may people will be that bothered about 10/20p and will therefore not be as inclined to recycle the bottles!
Hi Emma, thanks for commenting. That is a good point, so you think by incentivising people more they will be more inclined to recycle their waste? Any other ideas how they can do this apart from increasing the price of the plastic bottles/cups?
Very interesting read Rachel. I think all festivals should be better at managing their waste and at the end of the day it is everyone’s responsibility as if somebody doesn’t comply e.g visitors it can have a big impact! I think event organisers/managers would save so much money by not sending as much to landfill, and gradually year on year the more efficient they become with it, the more money they can save. I will be directing some of my people to your blog to make them see how detrimental waste can be!
Hi Ian, thanks for your comment. Yes I totally agree, it will take time and knowledge but it can be easily done.
Fantastic article!! I feel this is a really relevant issue that needs to be addressed. I feel all festivals should ban sales of plastic bottles and sell stainless steel bottles as a replacement.
Hi Benjamin, thanks for commenting. I am glad you feel the same. It will take some time but it will be most beneficial in the long run.
Hi Rachel, I think event managers should be held responsible for events as they are the ones that organise them and so should be responsible for the clearing up of them and the initiatives they put in place to combat this.
Hi Jessica, yes I agree event managers should be held responsible but do you not think the visitors should share some of this responsibility as well, for example putting rubbish in the bins to recycle or reusing plastic cups?
Fantastic! But isn’t it more expensive for the event organiser?
Hi Kim, thanks for commenting.
It could be argued that yes it is more expensive but only usually in the beginning. Year on year the money that could be saved increases and the more efficient the event manager is at disposing of the waste of a festival costs will usually decrease. For example more recycling etc will result in less waste being sent to landfill therefore less cost.
I think you’re absolutely right, there should be an industry standard as the resulting rubbish from festivals is horrendous. Without an industry standard, its just a shot in the dark, and is difficult to get consistency accross the board. Yes, ultimately disposal of the rubbish and cleaning of the site is down to the event organiser however, they should do their bit to get their visitors to take more pride in the world, a problem which is not unique to the festival event industry. And although people (visitors) should care, its not necessarily at the forefront of their minds. Clever marketing and incentives for visitors are the way forward
Hi Chloe, thanks for commenting. I agree, everyone plays a part in looking after the festival environment in terms of waste. Do you have any ideas of how we could incentivise visitors to help manage waste?