Pitch perfect: Festival climate initiative gets messy campers to clean up their act

As we hit peak festival season, a bid to cut ‘phenomenal’ levels of waste, writes Arlene Harris

By promoting a circular events economy, Megan Best, MD of Native Events, hopes that waste and pollution can be eliminated and replaced with reusable items

Arlene Harris

July 04 2022 02:30 AM

Fleadh Cheoil has been entertaining visitors and showcasing the very best of Irish music since it first began in 1951. And while over the years the crowds have got bigger and the line-up more diverse, the much-loved trad tunes have remained, well, traditional.

However, while this doesn’t look set to change, this summer Fleadh will pitch Ireland’s first “circular campsite” (with Fuinneamh following suit in September) as part of ‘re:volve’ – an initiative to support a more sustainable events industry.

Megan Best, MD of Native Events, which is behind the new scheme, says for many years there has been a rising trend in festival campsites of excessive waste, due, in part to inexpensive camping equipment discarded afterwards.

“The circular economy is based on three core principles: to eliminate waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use and regenerate natural systems,” she says.

“When we look at events over the past 10 years, it’s easy to see they’ve been operating on the traditional, linear model of take-make-dispose – all sorts of temporary kit, signage, dressing, banners and so on are bought in, used for a short period of time and disposed of, creating phenomenal waste.

“Our findings show that a typical weekend camping festival in Ireland for 10,000 people generates 138 tonnes of waste. This works out at 13.8kg per person produced over three days. All of which takes huge energy to handle, process and dispose of – and what’s worse is that there is still great value in the materials being regarded as ‘waste’.”

By promoting a circular events economy, Native Events hope that waste and pollution can be eliminated with reusable cups and service-ware, leasing equipment rather than buying it, reusing “waste” materials to create upcycled furniture, decor and branding for future events and eliminating single-use plastics.

“Another key aspect is industrial symbiosis – where organisations benefit from using each other’s “waste” products, sharing assets or reducing hire and storage costs,” says Best. “This is an easy win for the events sector on a tiny island like ours.

“With this in mind, we are aiming to create a sharing platform for event equipment and materials, to move away from the need to buy new and dump afterwards – to keep everything, as much as possible, going around a loop.

“Also, the circular economy is based on emulating natural processes. We expect to see more events using biomass-fuelled generators, and temporary solar and battery installation for power. We’re also seeing catering menus changing, embracing a diet that’s less environmentally damaging – with alternatives to meat and dairy being chosen by audiences, and a move towards in-season, locally produced, organic fare. This is fantastic news for the regeneration of global ecosystems.”

Best says the key to encouraging different behaviour in these campsites is down to system design.

“We’ve done quite a bit of research into the entire process – from buying tickets and the purchasing decisions around festival camping kit, to the journey to and from the show, including the different layouts of campsites and how the pathways, lighting, signage, messaging, provisions, security, facilities and space all affect the atmosphere and actions of people staying there,” she says.

“So re:volve (which is a collective effort between Native Events and No Disco – a Northern Ireland events and tech outfit) is designed to encourage the development of communities and neighbourhoods.

The campsite is laid out so everyone has enough space to move around easily and can connect with neighbours without being on top of them.

It is dressed and facilitated with communal areas so that people have a space to gather, which creates a safe and fun atmosphere and can be managed.

“Clear messaging throughout reminds attendees to act responsibly and take a bit of ownership of the space they’re in, to be respectful towards one another and to use bins and facilities correctly.

“All of this is created using circular economy principles – so re:volve is more than a campsite – it’s an experience of the circular economy in action.”

Another aim of the project is for it to it to be online, where attendees can buy tickets, buy and earn tokens, and create community through voting for various elements for different campsites.

“Ultimately, we see the creation of community and purpose as the appropriate response to a take-make-dispose linear campsite problem.”

Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, organised by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, will be held in Mullingar from July 31 - August 8. Fuinneamh runs from September 17-18 at Bellurgan Park, Dundalk