Make your festival experience greener...

Late-summer is in full swing, which means it’s prime time to dust off your camping chair, air out your tent and bring your wellies out of retirement for a weekend of live music.

But a new report which reveals our festivals are generating a staggering 23,500 tonnes of waste per year, means seeing your favourite bands performing live can often come at a worrying cost to the planet.

With a few small lifestyle changes, you can reduce the impact your festival experience has on the world. Here are some key ways to green up your act...

Oxford Mail:

1. Invest in a decent tent: Retailers have been criticised in recent years for selling cheap, pop-up tents that encourage gig-goers to leave them on the site after only a couple of days’ use. Spend an extra few quid on a robust, weatherproof festival tent that you can reuse for plenty of summers to come.

2. Glam up with biodegradable glitter: Glitter is a festival style essential, but its harmful environmental effects are so severe, that according to the Association of Independent Festivals, the sparkly stuff has been banned at over 60 festivals in the UK. Biodegradable and sustainable alternatives such as Eco Glitter Fun (ecoglitterfun.com) and Eco Stardust (ecostardust.com) are the solution.

Oxford Mail:

Shine on: Shimmering at Wilderness festival

3. Invest in a reusable water bottle: Reusable water bottles are great for so many reasons. As well as being good for the environment, they work out cheaper than buying several disposable water bottles, they’re BPA-free (a plastic that some fear is linked with cancer) and they can often keep your liquids cooler for longer.

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4. Car share: When it comes to festivals, transport is arguably one of the biggest burdens on the environment, so why not consider taking public transport instead of driving?

Oxford Mail:

Staying fresh at Wilderness

If you’ve got a boot full of camping gear that you can’t physically carry onto a train or coach, think about carpooling with a group of friends.

Veygo (veygo.com) offers a short-term car-sharing insurance that allows you to borrow a friend or family member’s car on a temporary basis, from just one hour, to up to 30 days. This means you’ll be able to share the laborious driving responsibilities.

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5. Ditch the wet wipes: Wet wipes are another type of single-use plastic that can harm the environment, but they’re often the first thing people think to pack when they go camping. They might look flimsy, but these throwaway wipes are often made from polyester, a type of plastic that doesn’t biodegrade and can cause problems for marine life if they make their way into the ocean (not to mention, wreak havoc with sewers).

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Instead change into your swimming gear and going for a good old-fashioned strip wash instead with a bar of soap and a bucket of water.