Waste = food
Lesson two: Festival food waste
Learning objectives:
•To understand how much
waste is produced at festivals
and large outdoor events
•To understand what the
festival event organisers have
done to manage the waste
•To identify what the festival
event organisers have to
consider
Festival research
• Think of as many different festivals as you can
• Which are the main music festivals?
• Are there festivals in your area?
• Think local, national, global
What to think about…
What do festival organisers need to consider when putting on a festival?
Case study: Glastonbury music festival
• The festival employs a team of 1,200 volunteers to sort through up to
2,000 tonnes of rubbish generated during the festival
• Collecting and sorting all the cans, plates, cups, plastics and food waste
left by the 137,000 people can take up to a month
• The festival organisers hope that more
than 50% of all rubbish will be recycled
– including 230 tonnes of compostable
food and biodegradable plates, cups
and cutlery
• All the caterers at Glastonbury have to
use compostable food packaging
Case study: Glastonbury music festival
• Some 150,000 people attend the
festival over three days
• Compostable food packaging has
been used since 2005
• The use of compostable tent pegs
is also promoted
• The festival’s slogan is:
Love the farm.
Leave no trace.
Case study: Beverley folk festival
Beverley Folk Festival is a small, two-day event set
in the grounds of a leisure centre in a large market
town in East Yorkshire. There are camping and
catering facilities.
Your ideas
• Complete the worksheet
• Try to think of a large range of festivals, from poetry to food!
Over to you…
Produce a case study on a festival of your choice
Find out…
– How many people attend?
– Is there camping/catering on site?
– How does the festival manage waste from food
packaging?
– How do the organisers deal with the clean up operation?