Leave No Trace

[Gary]

If the car parks weren't always nine years away, and if I wasn't already taking all my own stuff, I'd definitely load up a few tents. Couple of bigguns were left next to us, not to mention the gazebos.

I know it's "not as easy as that" but if Oxfam were to go and fill their boots with tents I'm sure they could make a real difference, not sure it entirely matters who takes them down, although obviously it's easier for whomever benefits from them if they are already done. In my mind there's some good £ to be made in all the left equipment, it just needs someone to go and organise it.

As someone mentioned before, if you collected all the working chairs et. al... maybe Eavis needs to dedicate a barn to left equipment and have an on-site bootsale next time, make a few quids.

[EasyUserName]

... As someone mentioned before, if you collected all the working chairs et. al... maybe Eavis needs to dedicate a barn to left equipment and have an on-site bootsale next time, make a few quids.

[Nickyboy]

We left about 2 o' clock today and it was pretty bad. I thought last year there had been a marked improvement in the amount of stuff left behind, but this year I thought it was much worse again. I definitely think the mud is a factor. Some tents were pretty filthy, and I guess its 'easier' to just leave it than get it home and clean it up - it doesn't excuse it though.

[bigcatmerv]

I am not making excuses for anyone who litters, and I made a concerted effort to make sure I didn't leave anything, yet sometimes the festival doesn't make it easy. When you go to the bins and they're overflowing and you have to leave stuff on the floor a few feet away anyway, it does dishearten you. The bins should be emptied more regularly.

[loverlea]

It was my first glasto this year, after reading these boards for quite some time the love the farm leave no trace was firmly implanted. All my rubbish was put in the appropriate bins and I walked to the next if full. The same cannot be said of approx 80% of the people I saw at stages where people who clearly had been many times (wristbands) look around to see if anyone is watching then just chucked the rubbish on the ground. I too was appalled by the state of the site. those leaving before me just left loads of rubbish loo rolls baby wipes chairs etc on the grass when they left.

[alan_clarke1]

haha, there's more garbage coming out of your keyboard than has been left on the whole of Worthy Farm. There's a thread like this every year, trying to pin it on newcomers this year is pathetic. Of course it would be great if everyone cleaned up after themselves but stop pretending it's a new problem ffs.

[Festival Liam]

It doesn't help that the bins are pretty woeful. Especially by Sunday, People may have more incentive to put stuff in the bins, if everytime you lob something on the massive pile of shit around the bin it didn't feel a bit like a losing battle.

[Vacant0]

I am not making excuses for anyone who litters, and I made a concerted effort to make sure I didn't leave anything, yet sometimes the festival doesn't make it easy. When you go to the bins and they're overflowing and you have to leave stuff on the floor a few feet away anyway, it does dishearten you. The bins should be emptied more regularly.

[Lilmiz]

We were camped in the big ground and next to a bunch of young guys (from overhearing conversations didn't seem like they were 18 yet) who left an awful mess, kudos to the one dude who managed to persuade his mates to not leave the tent but they left everything else. I felt bad for leaving a bin bag full of rubbish near some bins.

I just don't understand how people can just be so disgusting, would they do that at any other holiday park? Also doesn't take much to pick your bloody cups/cans/plates up and take them to a bin.

I saw a number of people just blatantly throw their rubbish on the floor, it's not needed and with the mud it makes the trip slip hazard even worse, getting cans stuck on wellies/plastic bottles with lids on hidden in the mud just waiting for someone to slip on!

Unfortunately there are some ignorant people out there who don't seem to understand what they are doing by buying and wasting cheap products, unfortunately there is no cure for that kind of ignorance as the person needs to care before anything can be done.

Edited June 28, 2011 by Lilmiz

[Funkungfusion]

From 2009! Not getting any better really is it?

[ianianian]

We did bring loads of bin bags with us (both black and green) but it was disappointing to see they weren't giving them out like they have in previous years. I get that they may have been available if you sought them out but that's not the same. A certain category of person will clear up after themselves and a certain amount won't, whatever is done to tell or help them. The key is to make things as easy as possible for the large group in the middle of the two categories, hopefully push them towards the "will clear up" rather than "won't clear up", that means making the effort to give them all two bin bags etc.

[st dan]

A group of 10 of us with 5 tents between us all wanted to leave our tents as they were covered in mud and weren't worth the hassle of taking back. I decided to go over to the campsite crew and ask where the designated areas were where we could put our unwanted tents/chairs etc. And the answer we got back was .. "I dont know sorry. Just leave them by your camp but make sure they are un-pitched".

I mean what type of response is to that a group who didn't want to just leave the tents as they were all perfectly fine bar the mud? So we just ended up leaving them all packed away by the bins. Total waste, as if i was provided with an answer they could have been donated.

[GlasstoLuver]

Its more to do with the fact that people buy tents so cheaply, they're a pile of crap and they never go camping at other time. If you're never going to use a tent again and its not worth anything then most people won't see the point of taking it home no matter what messages are on the big screen. The only way to change some peoples attitude is an incentive. Obviously those who use their tents regularly value them so will always take them home.

[evergreenh]

Piccy 'borrowed' from the Glasto twitter feed (so presumably taken sometime earlier on today) showing an entire camp partly trashed but basically just abandoned:

They couldn't even be @rsed to take home what they brought in never mind what they purchased on site Quelle Surpise and all that but it still really pisses me off I'm afraid and I don't suppose for one minute that it's anything like the only example on site either :angry: x lots

[sselma]

The litter has been an issue for the past few years - I didn't think this year was that much worse than last.

The problem seemed to get worse when they massively increased the capacity of the site in '07 - funny that.

Perhaps if the more stewards were hired to clear litter and fewer to shout at people with megaphones it would help

[Donnababycatcher]

It started even before people entered the site. As we unpacked in the car park a roup next to us drank a load of cans, ate snacks and sandwiches and unpacked new wellies and waterproofs. They left all the packaging and empties on the ground behind their car and on leaving the site we noticed they had dumped all their wellies.

I do think the left behind equipment has definitely got worse over the years and would suggest that the cheap camping packs eg tent 2 airbeds, 2 sleeping bags, 2 chairs and lamp for 99 pounds are a big contributing factor. It must be very tempting to leave stuff behind if you only ever use it for one festival a year and just accept it as part of the festival price. Those of us who camp throughout the year are more likely to pack everything away as we will be using it again. Also I am such a cheapskate I enjoy getting good value out of stuff and am proud of how many years things have lasted. Most camping stuff today is cheap and cheerful and not designed to last long ensuring that as consumers we have to keep buying them again.

We noticed as we left there seemed to be a definite increase in tents being slashed and equipment destroyed this year which my son says is common at Download. People trash the tents to stop others using them even though they don't want to take them home :-(

Not sure what can be done to improve it because if people just don't care then changing their views is difficult. Videos or pictures of the site played between bands might stir a few consciences. Or more stewards/Green Police in the fields at the end encouraging people to pack up in a nice way.

I'd like to see some photos comparing say the family camping field to areas like dance village to see if there is a difference in attitude to clearing up.

[cejx]

I was disgusted this year at the state of the carparks from the Tuesday night - and that was as we were queuing to get into the festival.

The bins are horrible, but at least people had taken their rubbish to the bin. I understand the emptying of bins this years was curtailed by the weather. Leaving stuff strewn everywhere really shows that there are a massive proportion of festival goers who don't give a shit.

Additionally, why if a tent has a bit of mud on it can folk no be arsed to take it down/home? Makes no sense.

They really have to hammer the guilt message home between acts, in the literature they send out, signs round campsites, and the crew actually going round the sites and shaming people into clearing up, rather than standing round their caravans.

[DeanoL]

Leave no trace isn't working, I think for 2013 something new is needed that's a bit of a compromise.

I decided to abandon my tent, it's done four festivals, it was filthy, and I'm living in a flat with zero garden/yard space at the moment, so the only way to clean it would have been to make a two hour trip back to my parents' place this weekend. Of course, I packed it away and stashed it by the bins.

The thought did cross my mind though, that I was indeed breaking the rules. I wasn't leaving no trace. And at 4.30am on the Monday morning, my utterly knackered body was quite tempted by the idea of just leaving the thing as it was, 'cause after all, I'm breaking the rules either way.

I think instead of pushing for everything to get take away, we need to be more realistic. If you want to leave your tent, please pack it up first. If you want to leave your chairs, please put them back in the bag they came from. If you're leaving anything else, put them in these bin liners.

The battle has been lost, people are never going to take everything back, but we can and should make it easier for the clean-up crew to do their job.

[Completewasters]

We did bring loads of bin bags with us (both black and green) but it was disappointing to see they weren't giving them out like they have in previous years. I get that they may have been available if you sought them out but that's not the same. A certain category of person will clear up after themselves and a certain amount won't, whatever is done to tell or help them. The key is to make things as easy as possible for the large group in the middle of the two categories, hopefully push them towards the "will clear up" rather than "won't clear up", that means making the effort to give them all two bin bags etc.

[Glasto fan]

I saw the pictures of how the site was looking on the local news last night as I live in Bath. They interviewed two girls who seemed to be quite chuffed with the fact they had just left their tent there. Their excuse was that they were too tired and didn't have the energy to take it down! It amazes me how when people head into the festival they manage to carry tents, airbeds, giant rucksacks and several large crates of beer but then going home they just can't be bothered. In reality people probably have less stuff to carry when they leave the festival as they will have eaten all their food and consumed all the drink they brought in.

And please don't blame Michael Eavis. If it wasn't for him there wouldn't even be a festival. Unfortunately the mess is down to the laziness and selfishness of some people who attend the festival and adopt a 'don't care' attitude. This is a sad reflection of society in general I'm afraid.

There are plenty of bins around the site as well but people just can't be bothered to use them. In all the market areas and by the food stalls there are usually bins within a few metres. I sat at the meeting point one day and was amazed at the amount of litter there, and I could see at least eight sets of bins which they could easily have walked to. It is sheer laziness and they have no respect for the farm.

If I have a drink with me while watching a band, once I have finished I fold the cup up and put it in my pocket or my bag and then put it in the bin later after I have left that particular stage. It really isn't hard! If everyone did that we wouldn't have to spend the whole festival wading through a sea of litter!

[Completewasters]

i asked the crew & lockups a few times for bags in row mead... got none

Edited June 28, 2011 by Completewasters

[Completewasters]

It was my first glasto this year, after reading these boards for quite some time the love the farm leave no trace was firmly implanted. All my rubbish was put in the appropriate bins and I walked to the next if full. The same cannot be said of approx 80% of the people I saw at stages where people who clearly had been many times (wristbands) look around to see if anyone is watching then just chucked the rubbish on the ground. I too was appalled by the state of the site. those leaving before me just left loads of rubbish loo rolls baby wipes chairs etc on the grass when they left.

Edited June 28, 2011 by Completewasters

[geebus]

Handing out green and black bin bags at PGC when I came in on Wednesday.

[dondo]

I worked as a litter picker this year as part of the West Holts team but ended up helping out on Pyramid after we'd cleared our patch. Monday mornong it was horrendous hpow much litter/crap had been left- not just cans/cups but chairs, rugs, blankets, cool boxes etc. It was equally depressing seeing how much was left in the campsites

[Queeg]

are bin bags

i) expensive

ii) heavy to carry

iii) likely to take up a lots of space

bring your own bags.

as i have posted upthread, if you give out bags in the rain they will not be used to put rubbish in but instead as rain macs or something to sit on.