Woodstock has a lot to answer for. As well as bringing us flower power and sparking a trend for grisly amounts of facial hair, it sent out the message that listening to music in a muddy field was an environmentally friendly thing to do. Years on we still see our annual forays into the country for a weekend of outdoor partying as evidence of our green lifestyles.
But if you’ve ever seen the wasteland after a festival, you’ll know that there’s another story. As well as the waste produced, there’s the energy required to make music audible for thousands of fans; never mind the aircraft fuel comsumed to fly bands around the world to get them there. Here we look at six events, rating them according to their approach to waste, transport, energy costs and community involvement.
ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL
(June 9-11; www.isleofwightfestival.com)
About 30,000 ticket holders plus a few fence-hoppers will descend on the Isle of Wight this weekend to kick off the festival season. Last year it brought an estimated £10 million to the island, a fact welcomed by local business and the tourist board. But what of the eco- impact? The island’s wind farms will provide a significant proportion of its energy requirements, boosting its greenie points. But organisers admit that the focus has been on community involvement, working with local schools and developing local facilities rather than the environment. There are no on-site recycling points.
Shade of green Hint of mint. Eco issues are mostly off the festival’s radar.
Check out If you are the hippy sort, head to the Arboretum, a forest area with a lake on the festival site.
WOMAD
(July 28-30; www.womad.org)
As a showcase of the world’s best music and dance, it is reassuring that this Reading- based event takes global climate change seriously. Two of the 250 stalls will run on solar power — the Tiny Tea Tent and Lunched Out Lizards — and of the 27 generators, one will be powered by bio-diesel, a mixture of vegetable oil and alcohol. It will provide all the energy needed for the on-site recyclers Network Recycling. Plastic plates, cutlery and glasses won’t be allowed on site; the coffee provided for artists will be Fairtrade, and the 40,000 flyers were printed on recycled paper.
Shade of green A perfectly acceptable grass colour — only the issue of flights for foreign artists holds it back. Womad says it provides travel expenses but that it’s up to the artists what transport they use. Next year they should encourage artists to balance their carbon emissions on climatecare.org.
Check out The steam-powered fair.
THE BIG GREEN GATHERING
(August 2-6; www.big-green-gathering.com)
Originally an offshoot of Glastonbury’s sustainable- living zone Green Fields, this five-day event, near Cheddar, in Somerset, promises to be the largest outdoor green event in Europe, attracting 20,000 people, powered solely by renewable energy. Wind, sun and other ingenious alternative technologies will supply energy for everything from cooking at food stalls to concerts. Don’t think about sneaking in a generator, it will be confiscated (17 were taken last year). If you fancy catching a movie while you’re there, expect to pedal to provide the energy. Groovy Movie (www.groovymovie.biz) asks eight audience members to cycle, turning a large wheel that generates electricity. At least you can have a solar shower afterwards.
Shade of green Impressively dark, acting on as well as promoting environmental awareness.
Check out Croissant Neuf, the world’s largest solar-powered sound system.
THE BIG CHILL
(August 4-6; www.bigchill.net)
On arrival, Big Chillers receive a copy of the Country Code and a cigarette-butt holder resembling a film canister so that the deer of Eastnor Castle Deer Park, in Herefordshire, won’t spend the rest of the year chewing on filters. This sets the tone for what has been dubbed “Glastonbury for the middle class”. A dubious honour but eco etiquette is taken seriously. Every year since the festival began in 1994, there has been a Leave No Trace policy. Making sure that the area is litter-picked to perfection, volunteers, who earn a free festival ticket, collect rubbish and send what they can to be recycled. This year there’s a no-glass policy and biodegradable cups will be used. For transport, the festival has teamed up with National Express to provide cheap fares www.nationalexpress.com/bigchill).
Shade of Green Leafy, in a Chiswick kind of way.
Check out The local food stall selling jams, pickles and other local delights.
THE GREEN MAN
(August 18-20; www.thegreenmanfestival.co.uk)
Promising title, but the eponymous Green Man of this festival is a pagan symbol of summer rather than a sign of environmental commitment. So while there will be plenty of folk-loving hippies, you won’t see the eco-commitment prized at The Big Green Gathering. Organisers blame this year’s shift in location, to Glanusk Park, near Powys in Wales, for uprooting some of its green touches. Next year they promise a sharper focus on cutting energy costs and supporting renewables. However, the basics are covered. Like Womad, it has brought in the company Network Recycling to sort the waste; and everyone on the guest list will be obliged to pay £5 to charity.
Shade of green Lime but darkening.
Check out The artist Oliver Marlow’s eco-dens made from driftwood and other waste.
READING FESTIVAL
(August 25-27; www.readingfestival.com)
Of all the summer events, this one conjures up the worst images of burning plastic and marauding youngsters, despite the green measures that have been introduced over the years. These include long-drop toilets (which are placed over a huge pit) instead of chemical ones, and paper cups instead of plastic beakers. Last year the festival recycled 30 per cent of its waste, thanks to a policy of getting thirsty revellers to do it. Again this year, two full bin bags of recycle-able rubbish will earn you a free beer.
There is a disturbing trend for campers to set fire to their tents at the end of the festival, says Melvyn Benn, the managing director of Mean Fiddler, the festival organiser. Burning nylon releases noxious gasses and leaves a sticky mess on the land. Campers are being asked to leave their tent behind if they don’t want it, to be donated to the Disaster Emergency Committee. Whether the 75,000 festival-goers, mostly teenagers, will do as they’re asked remains to be seen.
Shade of green Surprisingly grassy.
Check out Ethically traded and organic T-shirts sold by the Workers Beer Company.
To pee or not to pee . . .
Squatting in the bushes or standing against a tree sounds like an integral part of the festival experience but it damages the environment. “Urine is a potential water pollutant,” says the Environment Agency. “It contains urea, made in the liver, which is a poison and it contaminates water supplies, killing fish.” As well as being washed into streams and rivers when it rains, it filters through the soil into groundwater reservoirs. So even if you’ve scouted out a spot nowhere near a stream, it’s still better to brave the toilet block.
Urea eventually breaks down; it won’t pollute the planet for a long time as other man-made chemicals do, but the problem is its impact during the period before it does. “Soil is one of the most important things we’ve got on our planet; it’s the Earth’s skin. It’s a great mistake to think that we can treat it like a toilet,” says the Environment Agency.
But don’t panic if you take the odd pee; it’s the combined output of thousands of festival-goers that does the damage. The Royal Horticultural Society says it’s fine in small doses: it’s full of plant nutrients such as nitrogen.
Future foods — groovy bread and edible plates
Leon Lewis, a veteran festival caterer, says the future is edible plates made from potato starch. “We experimented with them in 2000 and they did take a bit of chewing, but they were highly biodegradable and you could watch them dissolve in the puddles.” In terms of ethnic trends, he predicts a wave of Polish and Eastern European food entering the market.
Craig Sams, who until he founded Green&Black’s chocolate in 1991 had never sold a product containing sugar, says that bread is the way forward. “People are really starting to understand the benefits of well-made bread — it’s great for the gut — just as the antioxidant values of wine in the 1980s and chocolate in the 1990s.” He has even opened an artisan bakery near his home in East Sussex.
For Richard Reed, the co-founder of Innocent drinks, the pace and appreciation with which we consume food rather than any particular fare is this summer’s festival trend. “People no longer want to queue and wolf something down. They appreciate the opportunity to browse through the farmers’ market and pick a few nice things for their picnics while chatting to the people who actually made the stuff,” he says.
Eco-spots
An abandoned plastic bag will take up to 500 years to degrade, spouting methane, a contributor to global warming, in the process
Formaldehyde, used in chemical toilets at festivals, is banned in some countries, including Japan and Sweden, and is under EU review. This is owing to associated health risks — mainly irritation to skin and eyes and possible links with cancer
A burning plastic bottle will release dioxins (toxic pollutants) such as benzene, which stain and irritate the lungs
For sharing green tips Eco-Blog is at www.timesonline.co.uk/ecoworrier
