A small-town music festival in Oregon has dramatically reduced the amount of trash it generates in what organizers called a "huge win" and provided a potential solution to the growing problem of festival waste.
This year's Big Ponderoo Music and Art Festival, held in Sisters, diverted nearly three-quarters of its total waste using a new large-scale recycling, composting, and reuse program supported by a 44-strong team of trained volunteers, reported local news outlet The Nugget.
Overall event attendance at the festival went up 43%, while landfill waste went down 27% and overall consumption fell 22%, reported KTVZ.
The effort, led by local nonprofit SFF Presents, included commercial-scale composting and expanded recycling options, with volunteers staffing waste-sorting stations to help attendees separate compostable material, recyclables, and redeemable bottles and cans from general waste.
"This is a huge win for our initiative toward zero waste," said SFF Presents logistics coordinator Ruth Williams.
It was the first time Big Ponderoo, which took place the last weekend of June, had brought in such a wide-ranging recycling program in its three years. The 74% of refuse that was diverted away from landfills far eclipsed the national average for music festivals across the U.S., which is just 8%.
"With over 5,152 attendees over the three days of the festival weekend, we're ecstatic to have been able to increase our waste diversion by over 20% from last year," added Williams.
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SFF Presents received $12,000 in grant funding to support the scheme, including $5,000 from The Environmental Center in Bend, Oregon, to cover the cost of waste station equipment and signage. A further $7,000 from Can'd Aid's Crush It Campaign helped train volunteers, reported The Nugget.
Since 2024, SFF Presents has eliminated single-use plastic cups from its events, with drinks stalls encouraging visitors to bring their own reusable containers in exchange for drinks vouchers.
Behind the scenes, artists and staff also used washable plates, with volunteers running dishwashing stations. Food stalls, meanwhile, were encouraged to donate their excess food to local nonprofits.
"We would like to extend a sincere thank you to the 44 volunteers who staffed our sorting stations and supported our zero-waste leads," said Williams. "These amazing results would not be possible without their contribution."
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