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Recycling and Litter Picking


chemica
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In the midst of ticket madness and despair, I’ve come across the recycling and litter picking opportunities at Glasto. 

I was just wanting to get a few first hand responses from people that have done it:

when did you do it?

would you recommend it?

would you do it again?

x

 

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This is exactly how I ended up on the recycling crew- this year will be my 6th time doing it.

Firstly, this option is getting harder as more and more people come back year after year- so even if you apply your chance of getting in might be small unless you can get a recommendation from a friend/family member already doing it.

I would recommend it but it is hard work- you would likely get 6am-midday shifts Friday-Monday and if its a wet year if might be pretty grim. There are perks though- separate camping that is less crowded than public, a dedicated shower block (trust me you need it after 6 hours picking up shit), 2 meals provided a day and earlier access onto site. Plus a crew bar which is cheaper than public ones. Usually there is a Thursday night party where Michael Eavis shows up too and might raffle something off (signed shorts have featured in the past).

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I thought the same, I'm looking up all volunteering options as I won't be able to try for the resale so committing to working :)

The team got back to me at GF and said it was unlikely I'd get a place unless I could be recommended which is a shame :( But I've asked to be put forward regardless.

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This year will be my 6th year doing it.

1st year i did the afternoon shifts which were OK but you do miss a lot of bands.

The 2nd, 3rd & 4th times I did the early shifts which meant 6am starts which yes is early but you are done by noon so don't miss too many bands.

Last time I worked the pre-festival shifts as I was a veteran and worked the Monday to Thursday which was great but was in 2016 which was a wet/muddy year.

At 1st I did it as didn't get tickets but now I think it is a great way of doing the festival and also means no mad scramble for tickets.  As LeeHC said it can be hard work but camping in Ton's filed is good with good food and a decent bar.  You can also get access to some crew bars around the site if you want too (you sometimes have to ask them for a wristband before the festival opens to the public)

Priority is given to those that have worked before and by all accounts new spots are thin on the ground as others have said

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I litter picked a few years back, it’s hard work but definitely worth doing - it’s nice to be able to give something back and see a side of the festival you don’t usually think about/see. Pretty sure Emily said that when the festival is on, it becomes one the biggest recycling centres in Europe (this could well be mistaken memory!).

 

i was on the early shifts, working Shangri La - start at 6am so had to be up in enough time to get there for then...I had a very good shift manager who didn’t mind if we stayed there after a night out, as long as we did the work. It’s a different type of festival, you can arrive on site from the Monday I think, and you work Thurs-Mon, but I didn’t miss any bands, had a real laugh and met some great people. You also get showers/food vouchers etc. 

 

If the option is working Glastonbury, or sitting at home watching the BBC then for me it’s a no brainer! 

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On 1/16/2019 at 11:34 PM, dondo said:

This year will be my 6th year doing it.

1st year i did the afternoon shifts which were OK but you do miss a lot of bands.

The 2nd, 3rd & 4th times I did the early shifts which meant 6am starts which yes is early but you are done by noon so don't miss too many bands.

Last time I worked the pre-festival shifts as I was a veteran and worked the Monday to Thursday which was great but was in 2016 which was a wet/muddy year.

At 1st I did it as didn't get tickets but now I think it is a great way of doing the festival and also means no mad scramble for tickets.  As LeeHC said it can be hard work but camping in Ton's filed is good with good food and a decent bar.  You can also get access to some crew bars around the site if you want too (you sometimes have to ask them for a wristband before the festival opens to the public)

Priority is given to those that have worked before and by all accounts new spots are thin on the ground as others have said

I'm jealous you got pre-festival shifts- i was always thought they were like gold dust! 

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36 minutes ago, LeeHC said:

I'm jealous you got pre-festival shifts- i was always thought they were like gold dust! 

Well from what Fiona said it is literally names out of the hat and I was one of the lucky ones.

To be honest given how hard work it was with the rain and the mud in 2016 being on site for that long was hard work and I ended up coming home on the Sunday evening- 1st time I've ever done that and was part of the reason I didn't bother going in 2017 (when the weather was much better!)

But opted for them again this year as realised how much I missed Glastonbury and of course the weather will be great!

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43 minutes ago, dondo said:

Well from what Fiona said it is literally names out of the hat and I was one of the lucky ones.

To be honest given how hard work it was with the rain and the mud in 2016 being on site for that long was hard work and I ended up coming home on the Sunday evening- 1st time I've ever done that and was part of the reason I didn't bother going in 2017 (when the weather was much better!)

But opted for them again this year as realised how much I missed Glastonbury and of course the weather will be great!

Ah, didn't realise that- interesting! I guess that's the fairest way.. Is always that way or it your foot in the door once you have them?

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15 minutes ago, LeeHC said:

 

Ah, didn't realise that- interesting! I guess that's the fairest way.. Is always that way or it your foot in the door once you have them?

As far as I am aware once you have achieved veteran status (after 5 years) you can apply for the pre-festival shifts (as well as other veteran shifts) and then it's luck of the draw.

 

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1 hour ago, giantkatestacks said:

You have to be 5 years as a vet within Fiona's team directly though and not with a charity - if you are with a charity you are normally earlies on the Pyramid no matter how many years you have been doing it.

I'm a veteran but through a charity- morning shifts are ok to be honest, but pre-festival always seemed the dream! Always been early Pyramid and assume will be again this time! 

The only truly awful time was after the Rolling Stones- slight miscommunication had us trying to pick biodegrade paper cannon bits in the pyramid pit for a while. Not to mention the 'leavings' of people who obviously waited all day to be near the front..

Scarred for life!!

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8 minutes ago, LeeHC said:

I'm a veteran but through a charity- morning shifts are ok to be honest, but pre-festival always seemed the dream! Always been early Pyramid and assume will be again this time! 

The only truly awful time was after the Rolling Stones- slight miscommunication had us trying to pick biodegrade paper cannon bits in the pyramid pit for a while. Not to mention the 'leavings' of people who obviously waited all day to be near the front..

Scarred for life!!

I didn't realise you couldn't get Veteran status via charities- I'd always done it direct with Fiona as when we couldn't get tickets in 2005 it was the 1st route that we thought we could use to get to the festival- and think we pretty much got the last 2 spots.

When I did earlies I was on West Holts and that was great- especially as had some nice stall holders who'd give us discounted tea/coffee  .  Had a really good team leader the 1st couple of times but then got a new one the 3rd time who wasn't the best and actually went AWOL on the 3rd day so one of the litter pickers ended up taking over.

We quite often ended up going to either the Pyramid or naughty corner when we were done doing West Holts

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1 minute ago, dondo said:

I didn't realise you couldn't get Veteran status via charities- I'd always done it direct with Fiona as when we couldn't get tickets in 2005 it was the 1st route that we thought we could use to get to the festival- and think we pretty much got the last 2 spots.

When I did earlies I was on West Holts and that was great- especially as had some nice stall holders who'd give us discounted tea/coffee  .  Had a really good team leader the 1st couple of times but then got a new one the 3rd time who wasn't the best and actually went AWOL on the 3rd day so one of the litter pickers ended up taking over.

We quite often ended up going to either the Pyramid or naughty corner when we were done doing West Holts

Well, I got a veteran t-shirt at least!! Easily pleased..

Early opening stall holders are what keeps you going-I was gutted when Yeo valley wasn't there last time!

We mostly had good team leaders, though I was shocked to hear Maurice has died since the last one (don't know if you knew him!). 

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37 minutes ago, LeeHC said:

Well, I got a veteran t-shirt at least!! Easily pleased..

Early opening stall holders are what keeps you going-I was gutted when Yeo valley wasn't there last time!

We mostly had good team leaders, though I was shocked to hear Maurice has died since the last one (don't know if you knew him!). 

Yes we have got veteran status with t-shirts etc but not with shift choice as all the people from the same charity are on the same shift iyswim. I asked about this a few years ago because my husband and I were thinking of splitting am/pm to bring kids but was told I would need to off roll with charity and reapply with Fiona and didnt want to...

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1 hour ago, LeeHC said:

Well, I got a veteran t-shirt at least!! Easily pleased..

Early opening stall holders are what keeps you going-I was gutted when Yeo valley wasn't there last time!

We mostly had good team leaders, though I was shocked to hear Maurice has died since the last one (don't know if you knew him!). 

No I didn't  know him but did see this on FB and was obviously a well liked guy from the comments I saw

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On 1/18/2019 at 4:26 PM, giantkatestacks said:

Yes we have got veteran status with t-shirts etc but not with shift choice as all the people from the same charity are on the same shift iyswim. I asked about this a few years ago because my husband and I were thinking of splitting am/pm to bring kids but was told I would need to off roll with charity and reapply with Fiona and didnt want to...

I've always thought the recycling t-shirts were cool.  Better than the official ones some years.

Oxfam we just get a badge.  And a mug one year depending on how long you'd volunteered

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Saw this on the recycling crew FB page 

Hi All
New Message from Fiona:
The recruitment for volunteers is now closed for new folk as we have too many applicants for spaces.
Please could everyone only email Fiona if absolutely neccessary, as she's become seriously overwhelmed with messages - thank you.

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