The EcoTent, the festival tent abandonment issue solution?

[Crazyfool01]

and make sure you use potato starch pegs instead of metal ones  

[ian the worm]

1) If you are concerned enough to buy one of these then you’re probably concerned  enough to leave no trace. IE no problem to solve. 
 

2) festivals that are concerned will already employ workers to pre-erect standard tents that won’t degrade. IE no problem to solve. 
 

3) people generally buy bargains so this would have to be low in price to sell in volume. 
 

4) what about the other shit that is left behind. The tent is just part of the problem———-  tents don’t cause problems, people do. 

Edited November 16, 2019 by ian the worm

[sophiemarie]

On 11/16/2019 at 8:26 AM, FrankieX said:

Perhaps a better 'green' tent would be one made of compostable materials, but which could also last for years? If it only broke down in high temperatures, as I believe some bioplastics do, then the tent could be put in a garden waste bin at the end of its life rather than a landfill.

Bioplastic is such an unregulated term, too. If something is "biodegradable", it can still release trace elements of plastic into the environment. Plastic particles from biodegradable tents at Glastonbury could easily end up in the cows stomachs.

[Crazyfool01]

2 minutes ago, sophiemarie said:

Bioplastic is such an unregulated term, too. If something is "biodegradable", it can still release trace elements of plastic into the environment. Plastic particles from biodegradable tents at Glastonbury could easily end up in the cows stomachs.

The question is ... is this better than them consuming fragments of a growler ?  ... and it’s not  

[DeanoL]

On 11/15/2019 at 11:41 PM, HalfAnIdiot said:

Yes, and every year needs a visible step change in ecological responsibility to keep the message strong. 

No single use bottles in 2019., great, what a result. What's the next step for 2020! Electric vehicle only on site? A ban on plastic lined coffee cups? No man made fabrics on sale? Ideas on a postcard please... 

Glastonbury has long lead the way in reducing environmental impact through innovation and straight forward decisiveness. Long may that continue

No international artists. Or punters. Eliminate the flights. 

[mattiloy]

Probably a combination of shifting attitudes (does seem to be happening) and more pre erected shit at a price level which is more appealing to the masses is the solution, and maybe in different areas of the site to give people more choice.

I have to admit it took probably three Leeds festivals for me to take my clobber hem. I was a nipper, it was a time before recycling bins, I was hanging.

Eventually it was economic reasons - I realised that festivals were now a fixture of my life so buying a tent every festival was not very cost effective - that persuaded me to start taking my gear back. Now I do it for a combination of the economics, the wider environment and out of love and respect for the festivals I go to, and having worked at a few, also for the people who do that.

If people aren’t regular festival goers, and I think glastonbury has proportionally more of these than any other festival, then more pre erected stuff would suit them far better, making it cheaper and marketing it better, demonstrating the cost vs buying all your clobber. Also a smoother  purchasing process (i.e. Sort it all out when you buy the tickets, not separately).

[mashedonmud]

On 11/15/2019 at 5:16 PM, crazyfool1 said:

im yet to work out how they could get milk out of Pandas though ?:) 

I'd start with a polite request, then proceed with care. ?

[MetaKate]

What about something of a deposit system for having a tent. You pay $10 on the way in and get a stub. Exiting the gates if you have your tent you get $10 back and a special presale code for the next festival. It would make the lineups leaving the festival a bit annoying but I dont think it would add much time going in. 

[Tuna]

7 minutes ago, MetaKate said:

What about something of a deposit system for having a tent. You pay $10 on the way in and get a stub. Exiting the gates if you have your tent you get $10 back and a special presale code for the next festival. It would make the lineups leaving the festival a bit annoying but I dont think it would add much time going in. 

Given the cost of a tent is far more than $10 it is not likely to be much of a deterrent. The presale code would not be something the current Glastonbury ticket sales model would be able to accommodate either imo. 

 

Just don't see any way of fixing these issues that aren't societal tbh. (Get Bielsa in)

[MetaKate]

3 hours ago, Tuna said:

Given the cost of a tent is far more than $10 it is not likely to be much of a deterrent. The presale code would not be something the current Glastonbury ticket sales model would be able to accommodate either imo. 

 

Just don't see any way of fixing these issues that aren't societal tbh. (Get Bielsa in)

Yeah I was thinking though, that the festival would at least keep the persons $10, or make it the sum which would cover the cost of clean up of one tent. It doesnt stop it going in a landfill though. 

And yeah I agree, people just need to take their tents home. 

[squirrelarmy]

What should be encouraged is more pop up/pop down tents. Something that is just as quick to dismantle as it is to erect makes them very appealing to those who don’t want to spend ages packing up a tent with a monster hangover. 
 

Being able to fold a tent quickly in all weathers will certainly make the end of festival chores a lot easier. 

[maelzoid]

1 minute ago, squirrelarmy said:

What should be encouraged is more pop up/pop down tents. Something that is just as quick to dismantle as it is to erect makes them very appealing to those who don’t want to spend ages packing up a tent with a monster hangover. 
 

Being able to fold a tent quickly in all weathers will certainly make the end of festival chores a lot easier. 

Many pop-up tents are actually a lot harder to pop down afterwards. I've seen many a punter struggling on a Monday morning. I actually think they add to the problem.

[squirrelarmy]

Just now, maelzoid said:

Many pop-up tents are actually a lot harder to pop down afterwards. I've seen many a punter struggling on a Monday morning. I actually think they add to the problem.

There’s definitely a knack to them. If you don’t know how to twist it back together then they are more likely to be abandoned. 
 

If someone can come up with a better design for that style of tent that is easy and quick to dismantle they will be much more advantageous compared to a biodegradable tent. 

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

1 minute ago, squirrelarmy said:

 

If someone can come up with a better design for that style of tent that is easy and quick to dismantle they will be much more advantageous compared to a biodegradable tent. 

You can get pull cord pop up tents now. All you do to pack them away is pull the cords, and they do all the work for you.

[Old_Johno]

Ahhh the weekly eco tent solution post.

my current mood is swinging towards hordes of “green police” patrolling Monday, any abandoning a tent gets a lifetime ban. Glasto is popular enough not to suffer ticket sale loss, I might even be able to get on in the main sale! 

Hefty Tent deposit is my favourite serious idea, needs a lot of staff to allow it to operate smoothly though.

This is one of the less crap tent ideas (let’s face it cardboard won’t survive Glastonbury) but still single use. Changing the attitude is the problem, this is a sticking plaster. 

[DeanoL]

9 hours ago, MetaKate said:

Yeah I was thinking though, that the festival would at least keep the persons $10, or make it the sum which would cover the cost of clean up of one tent. It doesnt stop it going in a landfill though. 

And yeah I agree, people just need to take their tents home. 

Cost of running that system needs to accounted for though

2 hours ago, Old_Johno said:

Ahhh the weekly eco tent solution post.

my current mood is swinging towards hordes of “green police” patrolling Monday, any abandoning a tent gets a lifetime ban. Glasto is popular enough not to suffer ticket sale loss, I might even be able to get on in the main sale! 

Hefty Tent deposit is my favourite serious idea, needs a lot of staff to allow it to operate smoothly though.

The tent deposit system would be popular on here right up until people realise just what that would do to the length of queues at the gates.

Ultimately I'm off the mind that this isn't the festival's problem to solve any more. Because the issue isn't stuff being left behind. It's stuff being thrown away. And by extension, shitty single use "festival tents" being made and sold at all. These tents are not getting re-used. Let's not kid ourselves that we solve the problem by getting people to take them home, and throw them away there instead of abandoning them.

The festival has a perfect solution to tents being abandoned: they pay people to collect them up and bin them. Would be nice if they didn't have to. Tickets might even be a bit cheaper. But from the festival perspective, any tent deposit scheme, or pre-errected tents scheme, needs to be cheaper than just paying people to pack away the tents and bin them. Otherwise they're making a loss on it.

[grilladelphia]

On ‎11‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 6:48 PM, Barney McGrew said:

I don't think cost comes into it for a lot of people, more a case of being totally broken/hungover/coming down... rational and ethics can soon bugger off when you feel like death, you've seen the devil and just want your mum!

Maybe a more supportive approach, i.e. helpers to pack down and some electric vehicles to ferry the undead to the perimeter would be a better way to go?

Charity pack down assistance teams...

 

 

They had 'Festival Taxis' at Boomtown for a bit which were a lifesaver - don't think they were electric, pretty sure they didn't help the tent situation. however, leaving that way rather than a walk up the "hill of death" was amazing!

Anyway, yeah - just take your stuff home. you've drunk all the alcohol so it should be easier.