Electric Picnic wins eco-festival award

If you go down to the woods today you’re sure of a big surprise.

No, it’s not the teddy bear’s picnic, but Irish festival Electric Picnic, the first music-and-tents fiesta in the country to win a prize for being eco-friendly.

Greener Festival, an award scheme that recognises environmentally friendly festivals, presented Electric Picnic with the Greener International Festival Award for 2008.

John Reynolds, from the festival’s organising committee, said he was ‘delighted’ to hear news of the award and that efforts to make the festival eco-friendly have been officially recognised.

Festival organisers worked in partnership with Cultivate, Body and Soul, Edenbee, EmissionZero and BYE to put together a sustainability team for the festival.

Schemes at the music festival that caught Greener Festival’s eye included a car pooling service for travel to the event, improved on-site recycling facilities, compost toilets, and solar powered cafes and tea shops.

Traders at the festival were told to use only recyclable and biodegradable packaging for their products.

A Bin Your Empties team roamed the site encouraging people to recycle their waste in the designated paper, glass, and aluminium recycling bins.

Other festivals to win Greener Festival recognition include the Falls Festival in Australia and Rothbury Festival in the US which won an ‘outstanding’ award.