Music festivals are environmental disasters when it comes to the amount of trash generated, and this seems mostly from festival-goers' strange disposable mentality. An estimated 80%of trash generated by music festivals comes from what's left behind by campers, and the Association of Independent Festivals guesses 1 to 2 out of every 6 tents are left behind. They get used for a single weekend and are often abandoned.
After the Isle of Wight Festival in the UK saw a shocking 10,000 tents left behind in 2011,some environmentally-minded people decided to take action. A campaign called" Love Your Tent(LYT)"was started, and its aim is to"make getting up and leaving absolutely everything behind you completely socially unacceptable".
The campaign took over a single campground at the festival and ensured that every person who wanted to camp there signed an agreement including promising to take their gear home. The first year 2012 was a success. Out of 1,500 campers, only 18 tents were abandoned. In 2018,the Isle of Wight Festival saw 1,450 campers staying in the designated(指定的)"Love Your Tent"fields,a nd no tents were left behind.
Unfortunately, it continues to be a frustrating battle. When LYT did a survey of students in 2017,they found that 60%of participants admitted to leaving tents behind in the past, even though86%recognized waste has an impact on the environment.36%were unsure if their behavior would ever change, and a pitiful 35%said their behavior would definitely never change.
While there's no easy solution to this trash disaster, it's clear that music festival organizers need to take responsibility for what their event creates, and demand that campers clean up their act, literally. Organizers could also provide tent-recycling facilities for those who insist on leaving their tents behind. Everyone could at least sign a code of conduct agreement when purchasing tickets.
Participants can also avoid attending festivals with bad reputations for waste management and support those with good policies. Most importantly,create your own zero-waste standards for camping and be an example to others. Camping,which is supposed to be a celebration of nature, should never turn into a garbage dump.