Not only was Bonnaroo 2007 a total musical success, with memorable performances from Wilco, Dr. Dog, and the Flaming Lips, among others, the southern festival was also a environmentally-conscious victory, greatly reducing waste via numerous initiatives. Over the course of the festival, held June 14-17, the Bonnaroo crew, in partnership with Tennessee-based company WastAway, managed to turn 250 tons of festival garbage into construction material and park benches, redirecting over 60 percent of the event’s waste from landfills. In addition, organic cotton t-shirts, biodegradable concession service items, and biodiesel fuel was utilized, the latter preventing 30,000 gallons of diesel fuel byproduct from entering the atmosphere. Furthermore, tree-free posters and post-consumer recycled toilet paper was used, while the Solar Stage ran entirely off the heated sun. Bring in the solar panels: If next year’s scorching weather repeats itself, the whole event could run off the sun!
On the Web:
bonnaroo.com
Talk: In what other ways could Bonnaroo reduce waste?
