Let me preface this with the assumption that we NEED to be at Bonnaroo, 400 miles from anywhere. Let’s assume that we NEED to be at Burningman, climbing up Donner Pass in an RV and let’s focus on what happens once we’re there or the whole conservation bit goes right out the window. I for one, will continue to go to remote locations to party and I suggest you do the same. We can’t feel too guilty about having a good time.

There are so many great green initiatives going on around the country at music festivals this year, it’s hard to know where to begin. Participation ranges from half-assed, to full-on Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa asks attendees to clip a cloth to their belt because they removed napkins from all the vendors). Here are some of the highlights:

Trash pick-up: Almost every festival has some initiative to get paid attendees to pick up the trash for the drunkards that throw things on the ground. To some extent, it’s a bit of a ruse because the responsibility for trash lies with first, the drunkard that threw it on the ground and second, the venue itself. Still, festivals are coming up with a creative solution to trash, awareness, and dehydration issues.

Coachella offers one water bottle for every 10 empties a person collects

The Trading Post, by Clean Vibes is a booth at Bonarroo where people can swap out garbage for green gifts.

High Sierra has a Green Team where trash detail volunteers manage garbage in exchange for free tickets.

Clean Energy: Amplification and lighting are huge power drains and alternative energy powered stages have had mixed results, least at smaller events. I’ve been to a few shows where a bio-diesel generator gave out and shut down the show, but the larger events seem to have figured it out.

SXSW in Austin, buys energy credits to offset their energy consumption

The Langerado Festival, in Florida powers their light towers with bio-diesel generators.

Michigan’s new Rothbury Festival offers a ticket supplement to help offset energy costs that need to be tied to the grid. The extra money is used to buy carbon credits.
Pemberton Music Festival in British Columbia is utilizing their location to help power their festival, hydro-electric energy will be the main source of power for the event, and the festival will also promote carpooling by offering free parking for those who drive in with four people.

Could do more: It’s hard enough to pull off a successful mass event, but it would be nice to see these guys doing a little more. Often, they are hindered by local services that do not have the infrastructure to support simple recycling initiatives.

Jazz Fest in New Orleans just began recycling a few years ago. It’s a tough thing to do when your host city has no recycling program though.

Winter Music Conference in Miami could do more as well. Just because everybody is buying bottle service and looking pretty doesn’t mean you can’t get them thinking about the environment, just ask San Francisco’s Temple Nightclub.

Whether a music festival is just getting started on its green initiatives, or well underway, their efforts inspire an audience that may be motivated to take further action in their own lives and that is the true long term benefit. It’s good to see major events partying with a conscious. It’s good news for everybody.