The Bonnaroo Music + Arts Festival will present 150 performances over four days at a 700-acre farm in rural Tennessee beginning Thursday. In its 15th year, the event is one of many major corporate-owned and profitable grand-scale productions descended from Woodstock, the fabled 1969 music and arts festival that devolved into brilliant but utter chaos because way too many fans jammed its 600-acre pastural site, which then got soaked with unexpected rain. Beer cans, glass bottles, rotting food, makeshift latrines, clothing, drug paraphernalia, cookware, chairs, sleeping bags, and even camping tents were all left behind by Woodstock's 400,000 attendees. According to anthropologist/blogger Corey McQuinn in a post "Free Love is a Battlefield: The Archaeology of Woodstock 1969," the festival's promoters flew over the once-bucolic cow pasture after the event and saw a giant peace sign made from the immense pile of trash. RELATED: The Music Industry's Battle Against Plastic Junk | Partying and Plastic: The U.K. Festival Circuit
Bonnaroo 2016 will draw far fewer fans -- about 90,000 -- and, thanks to an organized sustainability plan, will prevent the creation of untold tons of mostly disposable plastic waste that would mostly go to landfills. Their plan includes Refill Revolution, the reusable beer and beverage cup discount program co-sponsored by Steelys Drinkware and Plastic Pollution Coalition launched in 2014 (it discounts refills if you use a reusable cup, which you can buy on site). Bonnaroo also has a comprehensive plan to accommodate every kind of camping from single tents to family tents to deluxe glamping setups to cabanas and RVs. Last year, organizers diverted 8.25 tons of tarps, tents and other usable goods from going to landfills. To try to corner the evolving tent-camping festival-goer market, The Glad Company, makers of all things disposable plastic, experimented with a single-use tent at SXSW that doubles as a giant trash bag. The idea was to have an easy set-up plastic tent that you just invert and fill with all your garbage, tie off and toss when you're done.
A promotional video for the product -- which was never commercially produced -- called it "a zero-waste camping experience." But aside the obvious question about exactly how much humidity would build up inside the patented Force-Flex tent walls, a big reinforced plastic bag full of your mixed and therefore virtually unrecyclable materials, including more plastic, is hardly zero waste. In the same marketing space you'll find other ideas, including this one made of cardboard, and these, made of various synthetics (plastics), also designed for a one-night (or maybe two or three-night) stand. Meanwhile, Daisy and Ozric of the sustainable fashion accessories brand What Daisy Did are teaming up with some of the U.K.'s biggest event organizers "to combine event sustainability with functional fashion to try to help combat the disposable mentality that so many demonstrate during events." The brand's main focus is to tackle waste created by inefficient supply chains, utilizing materials such as factory-wasted leather and tents left at festivals.
They collected 80 tents from Reading Festival last year to create 300 drawstring bags which will be sold on the merchandise stands at this year's Reading, Leeds and Latitude festivals. In 2014, Reading Festival saw 596 tons of waste go to landfill, with camping equipment such as tents making up a big portion of it. "There is a huge misconception that tents left at festivals are collected by charities," according to the duo. "Whilst this is true, they only have the resources to take a small fraction of the tens of thousands that are left." What Daisy Did hopes the sale of their bags made of recycled, abandoned tents will educate people of the damaging effects festival waste is having on the planet. Each bag will have a label engaging users in the issues surrounding abandoned tents. Tents used to be made well, looked after well and last a lifetime, according to Daisy and Ozric. However, "prices and quality of tents have plummeted to the point where charities aren't so willing to collect any of them as most of them are damaged...
It's a sad fact that the world is getting more and more disposable (and) you can now find tents that are actually marketed as 'one use' or disposable!" What Daisy Did plans to make ponchos and yoga mats from tents, tote bags from camping chairs and wallets from broken wellies. "We could even make festival bunting and flags."You must camp with our staff and volunteers in the secure area provided. The staff and volunteer camping area is next to the staff showers, toilets and cafe. We ask you to not camp in the public areas as: We have a duty to look after you and keep you safe, easier done if you’re camped with us! Volunteers are required to check in at the cabin before each shift and make sure they are aware of updates throughout the festival, again easier if you’re camped in the Hotbox compound. In the past staff and volunteers have been involved with incidents due to camping in the public areas. Think about it - if you had been told off by a member of staff or one of your friends had been evicted by security, then later in the day you find someone who works at the festival camping next to you, how might you treat them?
No, please bring your own tent and any other equipment you may require. If you are working with Hotbox Events as either a member of paid event staff or festival volunteer then you must camp in the staff camping area provided. If you and your friends are all working with Hotbox Events then you're welcome to camp together! Please make sure you arrive EARLY enough to claim space for you all! If your friends are working with another organisation then you may not all be able to camp together as staff compounds (including ours) are quite tight on security and access and to enter you must have a wristband specific to the staff compound. Most festivals and events allow children of 12 years and under in free, those 13 and over will require a ticket. Anyone NOT WORKING at the festival will be required to camp in the PUBLIC CAMPSITES and use the public facilities. If you are a parent/guardian who is WORKING you will be required to camp in the STAFF AREA. If your children are not working, they will not have a crew pass, so will not be able to access the staff areas.
Whilst on the festival site your child/children will be your responsibility; care will need to be organised when you are collecting passes, attending briefings and working shifts. Please contact us if you have dependants attending the festival and are unsure about any of the above. Music festivals can be VERY HOT or VERY COLD and VERY DRY or VERY WET - all in the space of one weekend! So please pack clothing to cover all extremes, for example... A jumper or fleece. 2 pairs of lightweight trousers that dry quickly. A pair of shorts. Lots of warm socks. Boots and trainers (you cannot work onsite whilst wearing sandals or flip flops). For more suggestions please see the next question in this section "Anything else I should bring?" If you've never been to a festival before, or if like us you just can’t remember all the things you forgot last year ' in collaboration with the Reading Festival and Leeds Festival we’ve put together the 'music festival essentials' list!
Hopefully it'll help and make your festival a cleaner and greener experience! Your Info pack - you can download/print this via your PAAM account closer to the event. If you're travelling via public transport - bring your tickets! Or, why not give lift-sharing a go? Money and cash card – remember to keep these with you at all times, don't leave them in your tent. ID (Passport/ID Card/NI card/Driving license) – again remember to keep these with you at all times, or we can store passports in the safe in the Hotbox Office, but please be aware that we cannot accept responsibility for them. Clothing for all seasons – even in a heat wave it gets cold at night. Tent, sleeping bag, blanket, and a pillow – if you don't fancy carrying these home at the end of the weekend, take them to the left luggage/lost property/donation point before you go. Camera – or just use your mobile phone so you don't have so much to carry. Mobile phone & charger – switch off your phone when you're not using it and when you're asleep.
Your battery will last longer and you'll be doing the environment a favour too. Condoms – you never know, you might just get lucky! Paracetamol, or just drink some water before you go to bed. Sun cream and a hat – you'll be in direct sunlight (hopefully!) all day. Can opener and bottle opener. Tissues and loo roll – try to buy the recycled type. Torch – everything looks different at night and that floral tent you bought thinking you'd be the only one with it...seems everyone else had the same idea! Toiletries and a towel. Hair brush, hair bands and a mirror. Toothbrush and toothpaste and some chewing gum/mints. Bikini or trunks for the showers. Wet wipes for when you just can't be bothered with a shower! Clean underwear and lots of dry, clean socks. Flip-flops (although you can't work in them so bring some boots and/or trainers too). Pacamac – not very sexy but you'll look better wearing that than a bin bag if it rains.
Bin bags – put your clothes in one as you pack so they stay dry during the weekend. Try to buy recycled and re-use the plastic bags you bring your shopping in. If you do need more you can get bin bags and recycling bags from one of the many litter and recycling points around the music festival site or just pop in to see the litter team in the crew area and ask nicely! Please bag up all your rubbish and recycling and designate a litter and recycling point in your crew campsite. Try to keep glass and cans separate. Lager/cider – please bring cans as these can be recycled at the recycling points. Glass bottles are NOT allowed onsite. Wellies – you'd be surprised how many pairs of wellies get left behind. If you don't want them please take them to a left luggage/lost property point. Small camping stove and pans to cook in. Small gas canisters – please don't put gas canisters on fires as you'll be endangering yourself, other people, damaging the environment, and endangering the future of the festival.
A mug for tea, bowl, plate, spoon, knife & fork – bring reusable picnic sets if you can, rather than using stacks of the plastic disposable type. Washing up liquid (for the above) - try to buy the environmentally friendly type. Water container – buy a large, empty water container from a camping shop that you can fill from the water points or buy one large bottle of water and re-fill this. Please don't burn your plastic bottles as they release toxic chemicals when burnt. Sugar packets (from the services on the way!). A sense of humour and an open mind! We have a marquee within our secure compound which is only for Hotbox Events staff and volunteers; the marquee has an area for charging mobiles but please remember to bring your charger!Although (officially) no baths...sorry! All Hotbox staff and volunteers have access to our secure compound including: • The Hotbox marquee with lights, tables and chairs.• Tea and coffee making facilities in the marquee (please bring a mug!).