How A Music Festival Convinced 1400 To Take Their Rubbish Home
Date: 06-Apr-17
Author: Marty Middlebrook
A Festival Called Panama - Waste Free Music Festival
Since the days of Woodstock, music festivals have had a reputation of being loud blurs with the addage "If you remember it, you weren't really there." The aftermath image of thousands of plastic cups, muddy fields and rubbish everywhere are synonymous festival season.
But the "This is Panama Festival" in Tasmania took steps to ensure no waste was left behind and the environment was as important as the music.The festival website emphasised "This is a ZERO WASTE event. You are responsible for your rubbish removal. 'You ship it in, you ship it out'." The festival also ran on solar power and promoted a clothes swap, "Please bring along 2-5 unwanted but valued items for trade & exchange at the Great Panama Clothes Swap. Swapping works best when there is a high standard of items to exchange."
Before the event and throughout the weekend, organisers used both signage and social media to promote respecting the environment.
"Remember that time the PANAMA punters were the best? This [Photo of a handful of items] was all the litter we found on site after everyone left last year. Let's see if we can post a picture of nothing at all this year."
In the video below festival organisers walk the campsite after 1400 adults had camped for three days at PANAMA 2017 to find virtually no waste. "Thanks for taking care of the place."
(Song 'All Lost' by Jack Grace - filmed and edited by Jeremy Virag)
Positie Actions you can take:
- Always take your rubbish with you - see our tips on how to separate your waste from your recyclables.
- When organising events (from birthday parties to music festivals) always consider waste and encourage recyclable packaging where possible.
- Check out Planet Ark's RecyclingNearYou Reuse Hub for swap options.
Subscribe and Get all the Positive Environment News
Sources:
- A Festival Called Panama
- Facebook.com/PanamaFestival
- ABC News 24th March 2017
Marty started with Planet Ark in 2012 and is currently Head of Operations. "I grew up playing outside. I love that Planet Ark not only champions time in nature, but that it also demonstrates the actual benefits and positive effects for people – and how fun it is!"
Related News:
- Everyday Enviro with Elise - 20 actions for an eco-friendly summer »
- Bringing together traditional owners’ knowledge and modern tech »
- Protecting and connecting: What can we learn from the indigenous worldview? »
- Armidale residents taking wellbeing of local trees into their own hands »
- The tween making toothbrushes for the tribe »
- Everyday Enviro with Elise - In defence of social media »
- Everyday Enviro with Elise - Coffee complacency »
- English couple creates a recycling centre in their own driveway »
- West Australians fighting fatal flowers »
- Young and old, to the streets, across the globe »
- Irish teenager awarded for protecting oceans from microplastics »
- Climate activism empowering youth worldwide »
- Everyday Enviro with Elise - The overview effect »
- South Australian volunteers make tracks with outback recycling »
- Dispatch from Tree Day - Friends of Lake Claremont »
- The UK is getting its first climate change teachers »
- Pink Floyd guitarist's big donation to help fight climate change »
- The Indian engineer reviving lakes in the state of Uttar Pradesh »
- A new world record for largest underwater cleanup »
- How one couple created a rainforest sanctuary from desolation »
- Mr Titmarsh and the Magna Carta mangrove »
- Australian volunteers enlisted for war on microplastic pollution »
- Everyday Enviro with Elise - The Bread and Butter Project »
- Extinction Rebellion protests lead to big win in climate fight »
- The recycling workshop up-skilling new workers »
- Workers at tech giant demand climate action »
- The revival pack for tired bees »
- Indigenous knowledge key to saving goannas from cane toads »
- Carbon farming may hold key to bush regeneration »
- Students around the world hold first global School Strike 4 Climate »
- Technology leading the fight against invasive rubber vine »
- The trashy hashtag inspiring people to clean up »
- Everyday Enviro with Elise - The challenge of not consuming »
- Everyday Enviro with Elise - Greening the co-work space »
- Everyday Enviro with Elise - Plugged in with my favourite sustainability podcasts »
- Sydney wins bid to host global climate conference for women »
- Everyday Enviro with Elise - Back to school the right way »
- New tree cover bringing back the rain in Cambodia »
- Maasai Olympics provides alternative to lion hunting »
- Everyday Enviro with Elise - New Year's eco-resolutions »
- The 'people's seat', headed by Attenborough, speaks up on climate change »
- Australian students take to the streets in the name of their future »
- Everyday Enviro with Elise - Shifting to regifting »
- Brisbane Tool Library takes share economy to the next level »
- From predators to protectors - the Indian village that turned to conservation »
- International community approaching nature refuge goals »
- Everyday Enviro with Elise - the courage to act »
- Queenscliff's Lauren Esplin makes a point about disposable plastics »
- Chris Fong's tennis clocks »
- Ballarat's Food is Free Laneway »
- Burleigh Heads Boomerang Bags »
- Brisbane's recycled fashion shows »
- Everyday Enviro with Elise - The habit of walking »
- Researchers encouraged by cleanliness of Ningaloo Reef »
- The teenager tackling water contamination in remote Western Australia »
- Ethiopian community showing potential of revegetation »
- The music group turning trash into art »
- Bin the (tea) bag »
- Trading trash for a hot cuppa »
- Everyday Enviro with Elise - Small changes with big impact »
- A Walk Sew Good it's still being talked about »
- Everyday Enviro with Elise - Choosing progress over perfection with Lush »
- Kenyan business Ocean Sole is flipping the flop from waste to art »
- Everyday Enviro with Elise - Parliament on King »
- Disused and dirty swamp transformed into vibrant wetlands in the heart of suburbia »
- Mexico City is bartering its recyclable waste for food »
- Beach cleanup leads to turtle comeback »
- The bush stone-curlews are back in town »
- The Swedish fitness craze that's good for you and the environment »
- RMIT develops new proton battery prototype »
- Planet Ark's flagship recycling info service is getting a makeover »
- Italian sheepdogs become little penguin protectors »
- An innovative solution to the problem of ocean pollution »
- Indigenous women helping to conserve glowing turtles »
- Taking sustainable fashion to new heights »
- HP's plastic recycling program is turning Haitian pollution into printer cartridges »
- Cleaning up the Cove »
- A year in review - Australian natives made some great comebacks in 2017 »
- Marine plastic pollution: a personal perspective »
- Plastics inspiration: reasons for hope »
- Reconnaissance to protect the Great Barrier Reef »
- Flying Dutch claim victory for the 7th time in the World Solar Challenge »
- Top Australian sustainability award winners announced »
- Doing well by doing good: a recipe for sustain-ability »
- The calming effect of contact with nature »
- The Australian second-hand economy is booming »
- Fighting waste with Fortunate Food »
- How far would you go for fair trade fashion? »
- Facing down fast fashion with up-cycled clothes »
- Decades of community action brings a disappearing frogmouth back from the brink »
- How indoor plants can give city-slickers a literal breath of fresh air »
- Island sanctuary brings hope to dwindling quokka population »
- 1.5 million people, 12 hours, 66 million trees: India's commitment to The Paris Agreement »
- 81-Year-Old Lebanese woman inspires a nation to recycle »
- Green Clean for Sydney's Opera House »
- Australia's First Rescued Food Supermarket is a Win-win for the Planet and Those in Need. »
- Access to Nature Should be a Human Right - Report »
- Launch of Positive Environment News »
