There is something very special and exciting about a great music festival. Every year new ones are added to the roster because fans can’t seem to get enough. A music festival is a great way to escape the everyday hustle and bustle of the real world and can be completely relaxing. But while you are sitting on the grass eating your vegan quesadilla, take a look around and notice the beer cans being crushed into the mud while festival-goers pass by. How much energy has been used to put on the night’s performances? And where is all the garbage going?
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival has grown since it started in the summer of 2002. This year, the festival had around 75,000 fans pile into their cars and travel from all over the country to enjoy the festivities. Because of the major carbon footprint and tons of waste left behind once the festival ends, Bonnaroo started a no-impact plan to protect the environment. Not only are Bonnaroo’s organizers putting on an amazing festival and making sure everyone has a great time, they are also making efforts to leave behind zero waste.
“Bonnaroo looks to all areas of operations to reduce our impact on the environment from biodiesel-run generators, to requiring vendors to use compostable serving items, to cutting staff rental vehicles,” explained Laura Sohn, Bonnaroo’s sustainability coordinator.
The festival has collection stations throughout the venue for recycling, and guests are given a recycling bag as soon as they enter the venue so they start out in the right direction. Patrons of the festival are encouraged to bring their own reusable water bottles in order to keep PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles to a minimum. The festival has free water stations throughout the grounds as part of Bonnaroo’s Bottle-Less Water Program.
“Our amazing Clean Vibes crew runs 24 hours throughout the run of the show, sweeping the venue and collecting bags from the recycling stations,” said Sohn.
The Clean Vibes program keeps half of the festival’s total volume of waste from landfills and makes sure the recycling and composting program is in full force.
Another concern of Bonnaroo’s green team was the amount of people driving in from all over and sitting in traffic, all while their engines idle and the emissions from the cars throw out the biggest carbon impact of all. The organizers provide a shuttle from nearby airports in hopes that attendees will arrive and have less of an impact on the environment.
Organizers of Bonnaroo also encourage all of the food vendors to get their produce and meat from local farmers; this reduces their carbon footprint and supports the local economy.
“Our goal is to influence the decisions patrons can make to create healthy communities at home,” said Sohn. “We want fans to think beyond just sorting their trash.”
Since 2002, Bonnaroo has managed to find ways to turn a summer music festival into a positive, environmentally friendly event. The festival is proud of its efforts and success and encourages all music festivals, as well as their patrons, to expand on their green initiatives and to live a low-impact lifestyle.
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