BONNAROO 2009 BY THE NUMBERS!
As you all know Bonnaroo takes it’s recycling and composting very seriously. The amazing Clean Vibes team just finished tallying all the numbers and we diverted more waste from the landfill than ever before. Thanks for doing your part! Don’t forget, if you did it at Bonnaroo you can do it at home. Here are the numbers by weight and volume:
33% of all waste diverted from landfill by WEIGHT
Recycling:
• 81.49 tons hauled commingled to Orange Grove Recycling in Chattanooga
• 19.07 tons of scrap metal hauled to CFC Recycling in Tullahoma
• 27.18 tons of cardboard hauled to Coffee County Recycling
• 3 tons of used cooking oil diverted and collected by Tennessee Bio Energy to be processed into biodiesel
• Total of 130.74 tons of recycling
Compost:
• Approximately 30 tons of compost (that’s 3 times as much as last year!)
Donated food:
• 2.5 tons donated to Feed America First
Landfill:
• 329.47 tons
• Total: 489.71 tons of waste
65% of all waste diverted from landfill by VOLUME!
• 2,170 cubic yards of recycling
• 500 cubic yards of compost (the pile was 30'x30'x15'high!)
• 1,420 cubic yards of landfill waste
• Total: 4,090 cubic yards of waste
EDUCATION AND OUTREACH
- Continued the festival’s long-term commitment and investment to sustainability and the environment by having a year-round Sustainability coordinator on staff.
- Included a Greening Handbook as part of the employee manual including festival Purchasing Policies and greening tips for staff. This is distributed via email to ALL festival staff. The goal is to encourage everyone who works at Bonnaroo to make the most sustainable choices from their travel to the festival, to what they purchase while in Manchester, to how they treat the actual site.
- Incorporated the festival’s environmental mission statement in ALL sponsorship agreements and vendor contracts. Working to further the festival’s ripple effect through our partnerships with vendors and sponsors.
- Green service pod for fans where they can get additional information about green efforts, recycling, composting, etc. The pod serves as a way to further educate and work with fans on greening efforts. It continues the discussion away from the main festival venue.
- Every year Bonnaroo has a team of Green Ambassadors that roam the site helping fans with any questions they may have about sustainability. These Ambassadors are the liaisons between the festival, our non-profit partners, and the fans. They are trained to be able to communicate to patrons about the festival’s sustainability work, answer any green related questions, and communicate information about the work our non-profit partners.
- In the ultimate outreach project the festival formed a long-term partnership with the Carbon Shredders. The initial goal was to get patrons to commit to reducing their carbon footprint by 10% in the coming year. For the first time ever, the festival created a year round strategy of outreach to fans through contesting, message boards, and mailers about reducing your carbon footprint. After a successful year the partnership will continue.
- Enhancing and expanding our sustainability messaging on-site as a means of continuing to educate fans at the source of the resource they are consuming. At water stations there will be messages about water, at the generators there will be messages about fuel consumption, etc.
- Expanding composting collection. Will increase the number of manned stations and the number of volunteers throughout the site to encourage fans to put their compostable materials in the correct collection area.
PRODUCT CONSUMPTION:
- Concession food served with biodegradable wraps, plates, cups and cutlery manufactured from corn. This waste is composted along with food waste, diverting over 30 tons of waste from the landfill. This waste stays on-site in our composting pile and used as fertilizer.
- Bonnaroo typically recycles 3 tons of PET bottles per event. While we are proud of our high capture & recycle rate, the truth is that bottled water, even when recycled, still generates a lot of pollution and waste. This year we are introducing Bonnaroo’s Bottle-Less Water Program, powered by STANLEY ninteen13. Throughout the concert site, Bonnaroo will have multiple FREE water stations, flowing with fresh, clean drinking water.
- Presenting a full line of organic cotton t-shirts. 90 million acres are devoted to the production of cotton worldwide, consuming 25% of all pesticides used on our planet. While organic cotton is more expensive is a sustainable product and supports eco-friendly farming practices.
- Portolets are all stocked with recycled toilet paper.
- Using 100% recycled paper (30% post-consumer) for all of the program and administrative needs
- Use of VOC-free paint where possible. We also purchase as much recycled paint and hundreds of gallons of mis-tints as possible to use on-site. This replaces the purchase of hundreds of gallons of brand new latex paint.
- All lumber used on-site is logged and milled locally. This support of local business is a key part of Bonnaroo’s environmental mission statement to have a sustainable relationship with the community in which we work. It also makes our carbon footprint smaller buy purchasing local.
- Whenever possible recycled lumber, FSC lumber, LED lights, and CF light bulbs are used on-site.
- All 15,000 lbs of hay for security horses is purchased from local farmers. This support of the local farmers as become an integral part of the festivals sustainable relationship with the community.
- Horse manure is donated back to local farmers. The manure is used in the growing of local crops. This is an example of the festival’s ripple effect; the use of manure produced at the festival in the local food cycle reduces the farmers’ carbon footprints.
- Encouraging food vendors to source their produce and meat from local farmers. Again an encouragement to our vendors to reduce their carbon footprint and support local economies.
- Wherever possible in backstage decoration we use fabric that can be used over and over again as opposed to one off materials or plastics.
- 70% of tent decorations are reusable linens.
- Recycle or re-use 100% of the all petroleum based products used to decorate around the festival site.
- 50% of the furniture on-site is purchased from hotel liquidators and re-used each year.
- Source as many decoration materials, from carpets to mirrors to furniture, as possible from second hand or used sources as possible such as Goodwill or The Salvation Army.
- Leftover food donated to regional food pantries.
- One of the catering operations onsite was over 70% organic and at least 20% of the organics were sourced locally.
ENERGY CONSUMPTION:
- For 2009 the festival will offset 900 metric tons of CO2 by investing in a regional bio-mass plant in Mississippi.
- In 2009 the festival tied into the Tennessee Valley Authority electrical grid. This will reduce the use of generators on-site by 70%.
- For the third year in a row, a number of electric golf carts will be incorporated into the festival golf cart pool.
- By using a golf cart pool system the festival reduces the number of golf carts by 25% annually.
- 90 security horses are used on-site, replacing 12 security vehicles
- Will continue to incorporate a number of Alternative Fuel Vehicles into the festival rental transportation fleet.
GREENING VILLAGE/PLANET ROO:
- The culmination of the festival’s environmental mission statement while on site is Planet Roo an eco and social activism village dedicated promoting socially responsible lifestyles. The performance stage here is powered by solar panels. Within Planet Roo you’ll find our:
Waste Free Café
Our non profit partners
Social change documentary cinema tent
A silent auction with funds going to a number of worthy charitable causes
The Academy which features lectures, art projects, etc. and is a great place to learn about what you can do through art.
Social Change Through Music panels another way to learn about what the musicians who are performing at Bonnaroo do to effect change through their music.