In May of this year we launched Cleanfields, a new initiative aimed at enhancing our sustainability efforts to create a more environmentally responsible event. Positive change was seen across the two dedicated Cleanfields campsites with 65.5% of tents taken home by attendees. We would like to say a huge thank you to all those who helped achieve this, and building on this success, we aim to expand the initiative next year.
Throughout the festival, our green teams worked tirelessly to engage with attendees, promoting the ‘Pitch, Party, Pack Up’ philosophy as well as dispelling myths – like the misconception that all abandoned tents are donated to charity.
As with every year we work with an array of charities and groups to help with the post-festival salvage operation, all of which undergo a health and safety induction and are assigned specific campsites to collect items. Those participating this year including:-
• Help for Soldiers
• Don’t Walk Past MCR
• Care4Calais
• Mr. Old Hall St Kitchen
• Liverpool In Arms
• Thrive Mental Wellbeing
• YMCA
• Local scout groups
• + many more
Once salvaging is complete, remaining campsites must be thoroughly cleared mechanically.
In recent years, there has been an increase in trespassers attempting to access the site whilst its being dismantled, to improve safety and deter trespassers, this year we deployed a dedicated team to efficiently breakdown remaining tents and clearly mark them as empty, ensuring they were ready for responsible disposal.
The launch of this year’s Cleanfields campaign reinforces our commitment to tackling this industry-wide issue, with a proactive campaign before, during and after the festival. As well as recycling hubs across the festival site, our green teams engaged directly with festival goers, offering incentives such as free merchandise, tickets to future events, and unique onsite experiences to reward proactive behaviour.
The ultimate goal is to encourage attendees to adopt a ‘leave no trace’ mindset and we recognise that this is a significant issue that wont be solved overnight. However, we are confident that, with a persistent and combined effort, we can change behaviour and align everyone towards the same goal.
Applications to apply to Salvage or volunteer and be part of the Cleanfields Crew will open next year.