The Future is Electric: Go-Eco at Electric Picnic 2016
#GreenerPicnic
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Electric Picnic to reduce festival-related greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2016
BYE Eco Campsite capacity expands from 900 to 1,500 people
Official bus partners added to Electric Picnic
Increased green messengers & Every Can Counts angels
Cup deposit refund scheme extended to every bar this year
Pledging to keep Electric Picnic bright into the future, the festival aims to halve its greenhouse gas
emissions by 2025. With the support of Ireland’s brightest Picnickers, the rolling lawns of Stradbally
Hall will create eco-history. Being GREEN is at Electric Picnic’s very wiring, and this year the current is
set to be stronger than ever.
Following the publication of The Show Must Go On report, Electric Picnic organisers had a lightbulb
moment, to participate in the Festival Vision: 2025 pledge to reduce the festival-related greenhouse
gas emissions by 50%.
Ensuring that The Future Is Electric, eco-friendly initiatives have been expanded this year. Together
festival partners Friends of the Earth, festival organisers, sponsors and YOU the Picnickers can unite
and make a difference ensuring that The Show Must Go On for years to come!
Going green doesn’t just start when you get your wristband, you can do your bit by car sharing to
Stradbally or hopping on a bus; Electric Picnic is teaming up with Bus Éireann and Marathon Coaches,
as our Official Bus Partners, to minimise the impact of our travel on the environment. Or you can even
go that extra mile by pedalling your way to the Picnic while raising charitable funds with RaboDirect
Tour de Picnic.
Pitch your tent with like-minded individuals at the Be Your Environment Eco Campsite where you can
stay in a creative and tranquil environment. In 2015, the 900 person strong BYE Eco Campsite booked
up in a record breaking 35 minutes! This year sees its expansion to accommodate 1,500 people who
want to live the eco dream together. There you will benefit from the all new sort-at-source waste
management system Niftybins, as well as eco art, eco discussions, and eco workshops.
Friends of the Earth’s Green Messengers will be ensuring that your environmental footprint is as light
as possible when the festival gets going. From your first drink, you and the environment can benefit
and win prizes by simply putting your cans in the right bin while helping to keep Electric Picnic
squeaky clean with Every Can Counts. Every Can Counts Bin Angels will return this year, increasing in
celestial force from 16 to 30 people strong. Last year 4,400 litres of aluminium were collected – an
incredible feat and a credit to the participation of Picnickers!
Making even the smallest changes can make a big difference. By putting one plastic bottle into the
right bin you can save enough energy to light a 60 watt lightbulb for 6 hours. Your pocket can also
benefit from these small changes with the Cup Deposit Refund Scheme, when you return a plastic cup
(sold at every bar this year), you can get your €0.20 back. Leaving you no excuse to recoup some
money just in time for the sale of next year’s Electric Picnic tickets. With just 1100 cups you could
have enough to join us again next year!
If you’ve recycled too many cups and cans the night before you can shake off the fuzzy head at the
Global Green; Electric Picnic’s pop-up eco-village of activists, artists, makers, musicians, foodies, slam
poets and hackers, brought together by Cultivate, the sustainability collective based in
Cloughjordan Ecovillage. Now in its ninth year, Global Green is the conscious heartbeat of Electric
Picnic; a cutting edge nexus of green ideas and conviviality, showcasing new musical acts,
offering great local food and introducing radical solutions for a future that works. We keep a finger
on Ireland’s musical pulse offering daytime electro, acoustic and night-time dance beats. Your food
needs are covered with our Local Food Project; it’s yummy and sourced from within a 50-mile radius
of Cloughjordan. With spoken word for social change, engaged art and discussions, Global Green is
accelerating the transition to a low carbon and resilient future.
Got a taste for the local produce? Gather the finest local products the Electric Picnic Farmers’ Market.
For something a little stronger without the ethical headache, all tea, coffee, hot chocolate, sugar and
bananas stocked are Fairtrade.
Clear your head by engaging with thought provoking discussions held at Mindfield for example, an
exclusive 2016 parliamentary proposition motion by Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan hosted by
Rubberbandit’s Blind Boy Boat Club.
Feeling crafty? Learn how to upscale unwanted materials and learn a forgotten skill from professional
craftspeople at Greencrafts.
Or if you prefer to watch recycling in action catch the winners of Ireland’s premiere recycled fashion
competition Bank of Ireland Junk Kouture strut their stuff on stage at Trailer Park.
// Be Your Environment Eco Campsite //
It is no surprise that our Be Your Environment Eco Campsite sold out in 35 minutes last year, it’s a
tranquil, clean setting which is much sought after. The B.Y.E Eco Campsite is an environmental
management co-operative made up an eclectic mix of eco warriors, artists and everything in between.
Throughout the festival campers will be welcome to take part in a variety of creative activities sourced
from the materials created by the festival.
// Green Messengers //
Festival partners Friends of the Earth promote awareness of environmental sustainability and ecofriendly practices. They have despatched the Green Messengers all across the beautiful land of
Stradbally. Green Messengers have the dual purpose of educating willing festival goers and acting as
gatekeepers to their own allotted bins, monitoring them for contamination and righting any rubbish
bin etiquette. With Green Messengers now being stationed at the festivals campsites Oisin Coghlan,
Director of Friends of the Earth spoke of the benefits of this: "Campsites are the ideal place to
continue to spread the recycling message. Campsites are people's homes for the weekend and since
we all recycle at home there's no reason why a festival should be any different."
// Farmers Market //
Local food producers and distributors will be selling their wares at the festival for the first time this
year at Electric Picnic’s Farmers’ Market in the Mindfield area. This will ensure that local businesses
will benefit from the Stradbally visitors and symbiotically festival goers will benefit from delicious local
produce.
// Greencrafts //
Greencrafts is as carbon neutral as they come, with the entire site powered by hand or solar power
(fingers crossed it’s the later). There you can chat with tradespeople as well as watching and learning
from them yourself. From felt hats to iron pokers you can even bring home something you have
crafted yourself from forgotten or traditional methods.
// The Show Must Go On Report //
Conceived out of a collective wish to reduce the environmental impact that festivals make and in
conjunction with the 2015 Paris Climate Change talks, The Show Must Go On report was published.
The report aims to create an industry-wide approach to reducing environmental impacts and
promoting action through Festival Vision: 2025 Pledge –A commitment from festivals of a 50%
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2015.
For more information about The Show Must Go On report please contact: Victoria Chapman,
Sustainability Manager for Festival Republic – [email protected].
ENDS
Electric Picnic is completely sold out and is subject to licence
Further information please contact: LHP on [email protected] | +353 1 497 0313
Electric Picnic Information
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