"But what we do know is that all these details are a part of ingenuity and innovation in making sustainable change."įor now, festival producers can purchase carbon credits to counter the damage done. "The goal is to leave no trace, but that's challenging when you get down to the nitty gritty of Porta-Potties. No matter how meticulously planned, an event that attracts thousands of people traveling from all over the country to one spot for a few days of wanton abandon will leave a mark. That's 66% of the volume that never went to landfill." "Last year, Bonnaroo recycled 327,540 pounds of trash and composted 140,000 pounds onsite. "After the festival, we sort through all the compost, where decontamination can happen," says Anna Borofsky, the owner of Clean Vibes, which specializes in environmental waste management at outdoor music festivals. It really helps."īonnaroo enlists the help of "trash talkers," who will stand next to waste collection stations and focus on where the food and containers go. "We also have the Rock and Recycle program, for which patrons can help clean up in exchange for rewards like T-shirts. "Over the past three years, we've poured enough water from these filling stations to fill 717,000 water bottles," says Emily Stengel, event services manager at C3 Presents, the company that handles green efforts for Lollapalooza (Aug. "Boxed water is the next best thing to hydration stations, because that material is renewable, whereas plastic water bottles are only recyclable," says Michael Martin, head of MusicMatters, a company that creates environmental branding for concerts and events, and the mastermind behind concepts such as online carpooling and bike valets. Water bottles generate a significant amount of waste, and festivals have countered with water refilling stations and boxed water. "Vendors are restricted from bringing sampling cups, and there are compost and recycling sites throughout the festival," says Alger. The festival, which wrapped its music portion March 17, made being green as easy as possible for attendees by offering only environmentally friendly products. "At South By Southwest, all our banners are vinyl-free, our badges are custom-sized so as not to waste extra paper and all of the generators for production run on B20, (20% biodiesel fuel)," says Ellen Alger, SXSW music production and eco event coordinator. Fueled by sharply focused staffers and volunteers, progress lies in the details, from clear signage pointing patrons to recycling bins to using hot dog holders made from corn-based material. The lion's share of supporting sustainability, though, is a decidedly more low-tech approach. "We take a multifaceted approach we look at the entire picture, from the materials used to educating attendees to mitigating our own impact." "We want to walk the talk," says Richard Goodstone, one of Bonnaroo's founders. "It would be great if all artists open their mouths about recycling and get fans behind it," says Franti.īonnaroo Music & Arts Festival (June 13-16) in Manchester, Tenn., has installed its very first solar array, which will generate 61,000 kWh (kilowatt-hours) per year and help offset the energy used during the four-day fest. There was not one single thing on the ground - a dizzying contrast to America." Since then, he's become well known for handing out trash bags to his fans at the end of his sets, and hopping off the stage to help clean up. Smokers wore little ashtrays around their necks that they would dump into the receptacle for cigarette butts. But the recycling areas were so detailed there were bins for green glass, clear glass. "There had to have been 40,000, 50,000 people there. "I was at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan 12 years ago," the singer says. Michael Franti found inspiration during an overseas trip.
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