A number of bulldozers have been used to clear tonnes of left-over belongings from the Electric Picnic site.
Friends of the Earth Ireland is calling for a complete change in how we approach waste – after warning that an estimated 10kg of rubbish will be collected for every person that attended the three-day festival.
The environmental charity had a strong presence at this year’s festival, with 160 ‘Green Messengers’ on hand to divert as much waste as possible towards recycling and composting facilities.
However, the charity warned that while over 26% of waste within the event arena was recycled last year, the same could be said of only 1% of the waste in the campsites.
The Creative Green certification programme found that festival goers generated 588 tonnes of waste last year – over 10kg per attendee.
It found that half the waste generated in campsites is made up of abandoned tents.
On the Hard Shoulder this evening, Mindy O’Brien, spokesperson for VOICE (Voice of Irish Concern for the Environment) said something has to be done.
“Maybe have tents that you rent, so you rent the tents and then you have to pay a deposit and then get it back when you return the tent,” she said.
“If it is damaged, then you have to forfeit your deposit.”
Hey Min. @DenisNaughten, we've got an #ElectricPicnic wristband for you see how plastic Deposit & Return systems work. If we can do it in a field in Co. Laois, so can you! https://t.co/u0u8YKYLrT#ReturnNotBurn#PlasticFree#CleanMyPicnic#electricpicnic2018 #WasteReductionBill pic.twitter.com/iNWCqKIrQ7
— Friends of the Earth (@foeireland) September 1, 2018
She admitted however that “with 50,000 people, that might be a managerial nightmare.”
“I am not quite sure,” she said. “But I think this disposable society that we are living in, people will say ‘I will pay €5 I don’t care if it gets thrown away.”
“Things are too cheap.”
Back in 2011, the Association of Independent Festivals reported that, on average, one in six people leave their tents behind at festivals.
This is largely attributed to the mistaken belief that abandoned tents would be donated to charity.
Friends of the Earth is warning that in reality, there are far too many abandoned tents in too poor a condition for charities to be able to pack and use.
