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ENVIRONMENT

Latest news:

As you may know from having read our News page recently we are delighted to have been announced as one of the recipients of the prestigious A Greener Festival Award 2008 for efforts in promoting environmentally friendly music festivals. For more info on this see our News page.

One of things that contributed to this award was our levels of recycling which, for those interested, were as follows:


RECYCLING 2008 - all weights in tons unless stated

Cardboard - 0.66
Cans/plastics/newspapers from arena - 2.88
Cans/plastics/newspapers from Cherry Hinton campsite - 1.58
Cans/plastics/newspapers from Coldhams Campsite - 1.8
Glass - 5.95
Food Composting - 1.22
Waste oil - 120 litres

TOTAL 14.09

Headline issues

The cardboard weight was down as less boxes were used mainly from both bars.
Plastics recycling was down due to our new system of having re-useable glasses.
Waste oil is down as we ask traders to most away with them.
Food composting trial was a new addition.
More glass up mainly from both campsites
Arena recycling up due to better bins and more staff for the hand pick

The overall general waste was reduced from 38.9 tons 2007 to 33.90 tons 2008. The reasons for this were:

No plastic glasses
Food waste diverted
Increased recycling in campsites and arena

This years recycling rate was 41.5% up from 36.7% last year

2007

Cardboard 2.70
Cans 1.20
Plastic 1.50
Glass 5.10
Newspapers 0.8
Campsite bags 3.00
Waste oil 200 Litres

Total 14.30
all weights in tons unless stated

2007 review- The heavy rain had some effects on this years stats: (1) Cardboard weighs more due to being wet but we also persistently targeted traders cardboard waste (2) Campsite bag weight down due to difficult tent living conditions makes it hard and inconvenient to recycle.
New for this year were newspapers which were picked by hand by the over-night litter crew from arena.

Total non-recyclable waste fell to 38.9 tons this year, therefore the recycling rate achieved was 36.7%.

 

* * * * * * *

Cambridge Folk Festival is committed to minimising its impact on the environment.

Please help us to keep the site tidy and recycle using the bins, skips, recycling bags and points provided. Please do not bring glass; no glass bottles are allowed in the arena.

Recycling at the Cambridge Folk Festival was introduced 13 years ago, to supplement our overall waste management and the Festival currently recycles paper, cardboard, cans, plastic, glass and waste oil at all sites.

We currently recycle just over 33% of all waste generated at the Festival. However, we wish to improve on these levels and would like your support in this.

All campers will be given recycling bags on entry to the site. Bins will separate material into appropriate containers around the sites. Each toilet will be supplied with a waste paper bin to recycle paper hand towels. Please use all of these!

Transport

Please use public transport or www.liftshare.com wherever possible.

We provide free buses to and from Cambridge Railway Station and Bus Station on your arrival and departure. Free buses are also provided to and from main site, car parks and Coldhams Common throughout the event.

Trishaws will also be available to help take you to and from the car park to the main site.

Covered bike racks are available at St Bedes School. A limited number of bike racks will be available at Cherry Hinton Hall, accessible via Drop Off Gate 1. For your own safety, do not leave bikes in the bus turning area.

St John Ambulance shall be using bikes to get around and between sites, wherever possible.

We shall continue with arrangements which have been successful in minimising traffic congestion during the opening of the Festival by ensuring all customers go straight to the car park to unload and operating a prioritised drop-off system for those who need it.

Preventing traffic congestion is essential for the future of the Festival. Unless you are disabled or have a trailer tent, you must drive straight to the car park. There will be no unauthorised unloading at or near Cherry Hinton Hall Campsite other than for disabled people and those with trailer tents. It is a 15 minute walk from the car park to Cherry Hinton Hall Campsite but a regular free shuttle bus service is provided. If there is no traffic congestion on the day, authorised drop off at Cherry Hinton Hall Campsite will be allowed to those with greater need eg customers with: large numbers of children; children under 5; an injury or illness; bulky or large amounts of musical instruments; large amounts of equipment; or customers who are elderly. Authorised drop off will be controlled by stewards at the car park only; you must still drive to the car park first.

Our Environmental Impact

We are currently investigating how we might measure the CO² emitted by public, artists and production transport and then evaluate where this can be reduced in future years.

In 2007 the Co-operative group measured individual attendees carbon footprint’s and 7763kg of CO2 was off set by tree planting and funding renewable energy schemes.

These are some of the measures we currently use to reduce our environmental impact:

Staff are encouraged to ‘switch off’ where possible.

Taps used by campers will automatically switch off to conserve water. Please help us conserve water at the Festival.

Local waterways, land and the biodiversity of the area are protected from negative impacts and contamination by the provision of sufficient toilets, waste fluid collection, adequate site drainage and the safe disposal of chemicals.

We have been assured that there is no sensitive wildlife in the immediate area.

Trackway is used on highly trafficked pedestrian areas to protect the park ground.

We pledge to put right any damage caused to the site as soon as possible after the event.
 

This year Cambridge Folk Festival is introducing a system or of reusing plastic pint glasses at our bars, which is going to have a major impact on the tidiness of the site and reduce the number of glasses that we waste.

Because we want to maintain a traditionally pulled pint, we have to use rigid plastic glasses and not cardboard ones. In previous year's we have used around 40,000 plastic glasses, many of which have ended up littering the site and are hard to pick up once they become shattered and embedded in the ground.

This year we are introducing a mandatory deposit on all plastic pint glasses, which will drastically reduce the number that we need. Whilst some customers might be concerned about the initial deposit cost, they will be able to get this money back when they leave the festival. The glasses have also been attractively printed and we envisage that many people will want to keep them as souvenirs and re-use when they get home as well as at the festival, (rather like the glass tankards which we already produce).

If customers are concerned that their glasses have become dirty, there will be machines to give them a quick wash, though we hope people will use this sparingly in order to save water, as it takes 1/4 pint of water to rinse each glass. We hope people will cooperative and not demand a clean glass everytime they order a pint as that would rather defeat the objective. Age restrictions will apply when deposits are returned to ensure that children do not claim unattended glasses.
 

Traders and Caterers

All caterers and traders complete an Ethical Statement as part of the process to secure a stall. This is taken into account, together with other factors when deciding who should trade on site.

Catering outlets have been told to use biodegradable trays and wooden cutlery rather than plastic.

All tea, coffee and hot chocolate sold on site is Fair Trade.

Caterers are not allowed to use their own generators, which can add to noise and pollution. All power is supplied by the Festival.

We provide caterers with containers so we can recycle food waste, water and cooking oil and to prevent contamination of local land or waterways.

This year traders will not be allowed to provide plastic bags to customers. Reusable cloth bags will be for sale at the Festivals own merchandise stall.

Contractors & Purchasing

All major contractors are required to consider their own impact on the environment which is part of their appointment process.

We have asked our on-site electricians to use low energy light bulbs where possible and turn off emergency lighting during the day, where it is safe to do so.

We follow Cambridge City Council’s ‘Buying Green’ guide where possible when procuring goods. Products from sustainable and/or recycled sources are used where available.

Friends of the Earth

We are pleased to have a longstanding association with Friends of the Earth. FOE provides a team of 12 volunteers who assist with recycling each day. They also run a promotional stall to educate attendees on the benefits of recycling and to promote a variety of other environmental issues. As well as passes and stall space, the Festival gives a donation to FOE.

Thank yous

We hope that you will help us to keep the site clean and recycle whilst at the Festival and thank you in advance for your efforts. Thank you also to our partners in waste management and recycling; County Recycling, Cambridge Friends of the Earth, Cambridge City Council City Services.