I personally believe that when we host large gatherings of people, bringing together big crowds, it is our responsibility to have the lowest possible impact and environmental footprint. It is also our responsibility to educate to impact a greater change and shift the mindset of festival attendees to carry these practices into their daily lives. That is why myself and my team always takes that extra step to make sure we are treading lightly on the majestic Goddess, Mother Earth while at the same time, delivering a damn good time and a high end experience.
Borderland Festival has stayed true to their mission in becoming a zero waste festival. Achieving a diversion rate of 83%, with 10,531 pounds of waste being diverted away from the landfill and into composting, recycling and food donation programs. More than 6,438 pounds of compostable materials went to Farmer Pirates a local composting site. We ended up filling only half a dumpster of landfill waste for the whole weekend. The festival's long term goal is to fully transition into a completely sustainable event by fostering a culture of environmentalism and waste mitigation.
On site we have re-usable water stations where fans can have free water re-fills, eliminating single use plastic water bottles. All food and bar vendors use compostable products and fans could purchase a stainless steel re-usable cup and get $1 off any drink.
Biking and carpooling is encouraged to reduce the carbon footprint!
Waste Free Earth leads a green team that sweeps the festival site. Dedicated to zero waste, this team goes dumpster diving, trash picking and hand sorts all the trash to make sure everything is properly placed in recycling, composting or waste. Composting centers only accept non contaminated compost, so everything needs to sorted. The Green Team makes that all happen!
ECOLANDS, an eco-village hosted non profit organizations who focused on environmental activism and sustainability. We hope to take steps toward an "off the grid" festival, leaning toward the use of bio-diesel and solar power.
PODCAST : Speakers & Split Rails / Rockn'Refill
Having the privilege to produce events in such beautiful places such as Squaw Valley, California, Vail, Colorado and Steamboat, Colorado with WinterWonderGrass Festival, we knew right away we had to honor the space. Leave No Trace was the mantra and every effort was made to divert waste from the landfill and eliminate single use plastics. We partnered with local organizations such as Tahoe Food Hub and Protect our Winters to ensure we were offsetting our footprint as well as giving back to the local community.
Working internationally can sometimes be challenging. We produced an event in the back country of Jamaica with the family of Reggae legend, Peter Tosh. on the beautiful Caribbean coast. The property was serene and magical, yet there was no infrastructure or sustainable programs implemented at the time. The roads were very rugged and challenging which made it really hard to get any big equipment or gear to the site. Despite the challenges, we were able to make small efforts. We used all local vendors, and local products and local fresh food. We hired all local people to work, as well as goats even grazed the pasture attempting to mow down the lawn! We had locals who swam out everyday and spearfished fresh fish for us, and we also used a lot of solar power. Our recycling efforts were tougher to manage, with limited resources. We also took a trip to Kingston where we visited an all boys orphanage in TrenchTown called Alpha Boys. The orphanage takes in kids off the streets, educating and empowering, while integrating music.
We are continuing to learn and grow, always finding new ways to have less impact on our planet and ways to give back to our communities.
"THE EARTH HAS MUSIC FOR THOSE WHO LISTEN "
- SHAKESPEARE
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