A festival in the middle of a city produces a lot of rubbish and uses a lot of power. Here is what we do about it, with numbers from last year rather than intentions.
Cups and plates
Every drink is served in a reusable cup with a two euro deposit. Hand it back at any bar and you get the two euros, or keep it — people do. Food goes on reusable plates with the same system. Last year 94 per cent of cups came back, which is the number we are trying to beat.
Waste
Separated bins at every stand: paper, packaging, glass, residual. The clean-up crew goes out at 02:00 and again at 07:00, so the squares are usable for people who live here. Last year’s total was 3.1 tonnes, down from 4.8 the year before.
Power
All stages run on the city grid rather than diesel generators — that was a two-year project with the utility company and it is the single biggest change we have made. The two mobile stands that still need a generator run on vegetable oil.
Food
Every food stand has at least one vegan and one vegetarian dish, and at least half the ingredients come from within a hundred kilometres. Leftovers go to the food bank at the end of each evening.
Getting here
Six hundred supervised bike spaces, a night tram service on three lines, and no visitor parking in the centre. The honest part: the artists arrive in vans, and we have not solved that.
How to get here without a car: getting here.
