The Green Gathering launches 'Don't be a Mug - Bring Your Own'

The Green Gathering 2018

Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th August 2018
Piercefield Park, Chepstow, Monmouthshire, NP16 6BE, Wales MAP
currently £110 for the weekend

Daily capacity: 5,000

Last updated: Wed 1st Aug 2018

Leading the way amongst festivals, The Green Gathering banned single use plastics, non-compostable disposable serveware and plastic glitter over the last five years. Now the organisers want to go further and reduce use of all disposables.

For this year The Green Gathering launches its Bring Your Own Mug (#BYOM) campaign, asking festival goers to bring a reusable coffee mug to cut down on single use cups being used on site. For those who forget or can't carry another thing, the festival will be selling durable, lightweight and gloriously retro enamel camping mugs at cost price.

The Green Gathering's initiatives to reduce wastes to date have included Crock 'n' Rock (a fun, volunteer-run crockery hire service); £50 surcharge on caterers using disposables; priority given to cafes using real crockery; on site composting; and creative educational upcycling workshops. It's also signed up to Drastic on Plastic, Final Straw and #StirCrazy pledges in solidarity with other events and organisations making sustainable choices for 2018 and beyond.

How many times do you have to use a reusable cup for it to be the environmentally friendly option? The RAW Foundation gives the answer as between 2.5 and 14 times, depending what the cups are made from. Twice daily for a week, at the most. The stand out fact from up to date research is that even once washing and transport have been take into consideration, real crockery makes sense.

Green Gathering director Em Weirdigan said: "Disposable culture goes against everything The Green Gathering stands for. We have super ethical cafes but they don't all have the capacity to carry stacks of crockery. Getting on board our Bring Your Own Mug campaign is only a small step beyond carrying a durable water bottle... and it could make a seriously huge impact on the amount of waste a festival creates!"

The Green Gathering takes place At Piercefield Park of Chepstow, in Monmouthshire.from Thursday 2nd until Sunday 5th August 2018, promoting sustainable lifestyles and combining education with entertainment. Entertainment this year come from acts including 3 Daft Monkeys, Nik Turner, The Majestic, Echo Town, Dragonsfly, Mobius Loop, Poisoned Electrick Head, Kangaroo Moon, Bethlehem Casuals, The Spacegoats, Troyka, Great Big Feet, Terry Logan, Vojta, Smiley and the Underclass, Global, One Eyed God, and many more, with more acts to be confirmed in the coming months. For all of the details so far please see the line-up page.

Tickets are on sale, currently priced at £110 for adults, £75 for young adults (16-17), or £55 for youths (11-15). Children aged under 11 years can attend free, anyone under 18 needs to be accompanied by a paying adult.

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