Reading Festival to trial services including tent cleaning and packing-away

Reading Festival have announced that over this August Bank Holiday weekend they will be running a project which will focus on addressing the tonnes of waste left behind by campers at the end of the festival.

To this end a dedicated survey will find out why people leave their tents behind and whether, by offering additional services around the tents, they could be persuaded to take them home instead of leaving them behind.

The project is a UK festival first and collaborative partnership with Knowledge Transfer Network, between organisers Festival Republic, not-for-profit environmental sustainability organisation Julie’s Bicycle, outdoor and leisure retailer Blacks, and design and sustainability consultancy WeAllDesign.

Each year, at Reading Festival thousands leave behind their camping equipment, last year 19 tonnes of reusable items were rescued from the festival's campsites. Research has already been undertaken on what festival-goers motivations are to ditch their camping gear, and the cost implications.

The research has revealed the attitudes and age ranges of those who leave kit behind at both Reading and it's sister event Leeds. In the survey conducted by Festival Republic, they discovered that a third of festival attendees left their tents and camping equipment, with 79% of those reasoning they were ‘too tired’ after the Festival, whilst 59% viewed tents and camping equipment as ‘cheap and easily replaceable’.

Interestingly around one third of the attendees 30% of Reading Festival attendees & 34% at Leeds admitted to leaving their tents and camping equipment behind, with three times more of those who leave their kit aged between 16 and 24 (34%), compared to those aged 25 and 44 (11%).

58% of those asked why they left their camping gear at Reading, and 59% of those asked at Leeds, said that it was because it was broken.

But it wasn't just the fact the equipment was damaged that led to it being ditched. More than half of those questioned felt that tents and equipment were cheap and easily replaceable with 59% of those asked at Reading saying that was the case and 57% of those asked at Leeds agreeing.

Some festival goers also believed anything left behind would go to charity (17% at Reading, and 18% at Leeds).

Festival Republic, the Knowledge Transfer Network and Julie’s Bicycle are beginning the process of tackling the issue of waste by trialling a new project at this weekend's Reading Festival.

These services will be:
a tent cleaning service
a tent packing service
a tent transport service

Each one of these services will have a cost attached to it. They will be offered to a limited number of campers chosen randomly, to test the interest in the services and to see whether the services offered will reduce the number of people who leave their tents behind.

The project hopes to discover if festival-goers would take up any of these additional camping services designed to add value to tents and camping equipment, encouraging festival goers to treat their equipment better and ultimately take it away at the end of the festival.

Melvin Benn, Managing Director of Festival Republic, commented, "We’re extremely proud of our partnership with KTN and Julie’s Bicycle, tackling camp site waste is an issue we’re extremely focused on changing. This trial at Reading Festival 2015 will see brand-new services available that will aide keeping camping equipment in the long run. We’re excited for the outcome and moving this initiative forward."

The line-up at the sold out event includes headlining acts The Libertines, Metallica, and Mumford & Sons, with Alexisonfire, A$AP Ferg, All Time Low, Alvvays, American Football, Ash, Azealia Banks, Ben Khan, Boy Better Know, Bring Me The Horizon (European Festival Exclusive), Brodinski, Bury Tomorrow, Camo & Krooked, Cancer Bats, Cardiknox, Circa Waves, Coasts, Craze, The Cribs, Babymetal, Darlia, Dillon Francis, Django Django, DMA's, Everything Everything, Flatbush Zombies, Frank Turner, Frnkiero And The Cellabration, FTSE, Ghost, Glass Animals, Gojira, Gorgon City, Hudson Mohawke, Jake Isaac, Jamie XX, Kendrick Lamar, Knife Party, Krept & Konan, Lethal Bizzle, Limp Bizkit, Little May, Lonely The Brave, Marmozets, Modern Life Is War, My Nu Leng, Neck Deep, New Found Glory, Nick Brewer, Oneman, Panic At The Disco, Peace, Pell, Porter Robinson, Radkey, Rae Sremmurd, Rat Boy, Ratking, San Fermin, Simple Plan, Slaves, Stormzy, Swim Deep, Bulletproof Bomb, The Districts, The Maccabees, The Menzingers, The Wombats, Toyboy & Robin, Tourist, Walking on Cars, We Are The Ocean, and While She Sleeps, Royal Blood, Bastille, Deadmau5, Rebel Sound, Catfish and The Bottlemen, Years & Years, Wolf Alice, Pretty Vicious, Jack Garratt, Hannah Wants, Jamie T, Pierce The Veil, Wilkinson, Refused, Run the Jewels, and Manchester Orchestra.

In other news Tyler, the Creator, has pulled out of both events.

Reading Festival takes place at Little Johns Farm, Richfield Avenue, Reading, Berkshire, and Leeds Festival takes place at Bramham Park, Leeds, West Yorkshire with both events happening over the weekend of Friday 28th to Sunday 30th August 2015.

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