After our last article on how to put together an environment friendlier music festival, The Sherp thinks that festival attendees too must share some responsibility in going green!
Go back and think of your last festival experience? Did you like it, or did you like it? Now, think of all the waste you may have knowingly or unknowingly generated, and how much time may have gone into cleaning all that up, if it was cleaned at all! If it bothers you enough, and you wish you could be more careful next time, we tell you just how to.
1. Carry what you can
While some festivals restrict carrying water bottles inside, you’ll be surprised that many other festivals do, in fact, allow you to do so. Like Shambhala which is now bottled water free festival! And they have water filters where you can refill your bottles. It’s much better that you do in fact carry a water bottle from home than bring a plastic water bottle, as that’s one plastic bottle less used in the world. Think about it!
What you can avoid
(image source: sunshinecoastlifestyle.com.au)
2. The more, the merrier
People rarely ever go to festivals alone. And sometimes you travel all the way across the highway to make it to them. How about you hit up other attendees from your area and carpool together? You’re not just saving fuel, but you’re also fostering friendships along the way. And if you’re lucky, carpoolers are sometimes awarded free parking, like at Virgin Music Festival, the brainchild of Richard Branson. Or Coachella which bumps carpoolers to VIP!
3. Or, the shuttle
Festival shuttles are becoming increasingly popular, what with them buses coming in multiple colours and music options. Hopping on to the shuttle serves three crucial benefits: you save money on travel, you save fuel you’d otherwise waste on a more private option, plus you’re being groomed for what lies ahead at the festival. Prepping has never been so environment friendly, we can tell you that.
This train service by Kendal Calling is super fancy
(image source: cumbricrack.com)
4. Love your tent
Most campers at festivals employ the use of use and throw tents for that one camping festival of the year, except the leftover of that is a huge junk of waste at the festival, not to mention the money you’re bumping for every tent buy! Invest in a personal reusable tent that you can carry around for every festival, one that suits your needs just fine. In fact, Love Your Tent is a legitimate waste campaign started by Eco Action Partnership that encourages people to reuse their tents. And who knows, having a tent at disposal might encourage you to camp more often!
5. Use the bin
One of Coachella’s stand out features were the cute trash bins that had been selected from a sustainability contest, where people could come paint the ones that would win. But all this so as to attract people to use them? Everyone should use dust bins to discard any waste they might have, whether the dust bins are painted cutely or not.
6. Those cigarette butts
We’re all guilty of it, and maybe it’s time we all thought about it harder. Imagine bending down, scouting for literally thousands of cigarettes butts that are lost in some crevice somewhere! Most times, they are left unpicked. Which is why, let’s take an oath to specifically try and dump cigarette butts in the bin whenever you can.
