How Green Was Glastonbury?

I have only been a festival-goer for two years, but at the end of my first ever festival, I was able to hold up my hands and say ‘That was the greatest experience in the world.' So that is why I went back to Glastonbury Festival this year.

Although the main aim of a festival with such a high reputation as Glastonbury's is to deliver sensational music from great artists and bands, from what I have seen at Worthy Farm, Michael Eavis has encouraged very many environmentally friendly projects at the festival.

On arrival at the festival, ticket holders are supplied with a reusable bag. This encourages the use of fewer plastic bags from the market stalls around the camp-sites. However, only one bag is allowed per ticket which means that if a bag should get damaged or lost, then a festival-goer will use plastic bags instead. On the other hand, one reusable bag is far better than numerous plastic bags, particularly as one reusable bag can prevent the use of 52 plastic bags annually.

Recycling bins are located around the whole of the farm for the vast quantities of recyclable materials used during the festival which further indicates the intent of Glastonbury to give the festival a significant green status/image, although it is reliant on the effort of the campers to stick to the designated bins.

In order to protect the regular residents of its fields, Worthy Farm have also in the past distributed plastic tent-pegs to all festival-goers to avoid the use of metallic pegs, which are otherwise left behind by campers and can become embedded in the hooves of the cows. These plastic pegs are as effective as metal ones, but when the crowds have dispersed and the cows come home, they biodegrade in the ground rather than cause harm to the locals. The pegs were handed out at the 2008 festival, but seemed to fail to make an appearance this year, so the metal tent-pegs made a somewhat unwanted comeback.

At the festival, there are numerous areas dedicated to specific interests, for example Jazz World and The Dance Village. There is also a considerably large area called Green Fields, which is full of stalls encouraging the use of eco-products and also numerous charities, which are all intent on opening people's eyes to the effect most of the global population is having on the planet. The BGI were here and Brigit Strawbridge had prime time billing for her inspirational speech at 1pm on the Saturday! And if some campers are unable to live without the luxury of a hot shower, the solar-powered showers in the Green Fields allow for this welcome experience. The presence of a Green Field and also the sponsorship of Greenpeace really emphasise the intent of Glastonbury to make the festival as green as possible.

Based on my two years' experience at Glastonbury, I feel that the festival organisers are working hard to develop Glastonbury's eco status, although it would be phenomenally difficult to make any festival 100 per cent environmentally friendly because of the electricity and light used on the stages, not to mention the carbon emissions from tens of thousands of travellers getting to and from the festival. Glastonbury has developed into a festival intent on promoting saving the planet and also delivering high quality musical performances. The phrase ‘Glastonbury 2009 was the greatest festival at Worthy Farm yet' relates not only to the amazing music on offer but also to the green credentials of this marvellous festival.

And will I be going next year? I do hope so...

Tom Etheridge

photos (c) Russell James Smith 2009 www.everystockphoto.com