Many musicians preach to save and protect of the environment, right? Many will raise money for some save-the-earth type of charities, but still, music festivals are an environmental disaster. I have just been looking at pictures of the aftermath of Glastonbury and it is terrifying, tons of waste, garbage, loads of plastic bottles and abandoned items of any kind. The pictures speak by themselves, how people can be such pigs?
It’s not surprising, every time I go to a show I can’t believe the scene when I leave, I can’t believe the amount of trash left behind, is it too difficult for people to find a trash can?
The Guardian reports that there were 40,000 bins all over Glastonbury so why there is so much trash on the ground? Looking at the pictures I would say it is much worst than what I have witnessed at the FYF fest. Plus if people bring a tent, a seat, or any camping gear, why do they abandon it? Is money that easy for them?
What a waste of money, food, drinks, plastic, glass, metal, why is there so much littering during festivals?
According to the Guardian, the cleaning crew had the amazing task to clean up an estimated 1,650 tons of waste, including 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 and 950 rolled mats! Wait a minute, scrap metal?
Her are a few ideas I got from smaller festivals I have attended… I remember one which was encouraging people to collect cans and plastic bottles left on field and were giving away nice gifts such as posters and CDs in exchange. Of course, you don’t want to spend your time collecting cans like a homeless guy when you are at a festival, but may be that was a good idea?
I have attended another one which had many ecology-oriented booths, teaching people to put their cans, bottles, food leftovers in 3 different garbage bins, it was a totally green festival and I wonder why festivals do not focus on this more often. At the FYF fest, they encourage everyone to bring a bottle that can be refilled at water stations. And what about zero-waste festivals? some already exist!
But I am always amazed by this mentality which gives people a license to dump litter all over the place because they know that someone will do the cleanup. Last time I went to a theater, the two persons next to me didn’t even bother to pick up their empty food and drink containers when they left, and it was pathetic because it was a dad and his son…We are a very sad species.