Play hard, tread lightly | Getclosure Blog

Guest post by Rocking the Daisies.

Did you know that it’s possible to attend one of the most incredible music festivals and still do your bit for the environment? Here’s how:

The Rocking the Daisies music festival kicks off at Cloof Wine Estate today so we thought we would share our plans for creating a sustainable music festival with you.

Initiatives for this year include:

Using bio-diesel produced from the vegetable oil used by participating restaurants. Powering the festival with bio-diesel cuts carbon emissions by 80%.
All Rocking the Daisies merchandise, tickets and festival magazine will be produced using hemp fabric, hemp paper and triple green fully recyclable paper.
100% biodegradable soaps and shampoos will be available in the shower facilities.
The restaurants at the festival will also use 100% biodegradable soaps and detergents, and food will be served in biodegradable packaging made from hemp oil and cornstarch.
All waste will be recycled or composted by Interwaste – last year 7.9 tons of trash was collected at the festival and over 4 tons kept out of landfills.
Visitors will be encouraged to car pool and will be charged an additional R20 if they have less than three people in their car. This money will be used to offset the festival’s carbon footprint and to rehabilitate the area.
Visitors can also join the social cycle tour and get from Cape Town to Darling on their own steam instead. Festival tickets will be half price for those who cycle to the event.
A “conscious cinema” at the festival will screen films and documentaries covering green issues.
Last year R15 000 was used to plant five trees at the venue, and another 175 trees in the Western Cape. According to Food and Trees for Africa’s assessment, only 130 trees were required – the extra 50 were added for the positive environmental effect. This year the tree-planting initiative will be repeated. Trees will be planted at the new low cost housing development in Darling.