TRNSMT festival orders plastics clampdown

Scotland's biggest outdoor music festival has vowed to go plastic-free within two years.
The TRNSMT festival is being staged for the third time on Glasgow Green this summer.The TRNSMT festival is being staged for the third time on Glasgow Green this summer.
The TRNSMT festival is being staged for the third time on Glasgow Green this summer.

Organisers of TRNSMT are urging all ticket-holders, artists and backstage workers to bring their own water bottles to the event from this summer as part of the clampdown.

Promoters DF Concerts is also demanding that bar and catering operators for not use single-use plastics from this summer unless they are recyclable at the festival, which is staged on Glasgow Green on July.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A new "deposit" scheme will be introduced at the event for the first time in a bid to reduce the number of recyclable beer cups that are thrown away, while compostable plates and cutlery will be introduced across the event.

The measures will also be rolled out at the promoter's Summer Sessions concerts series, which are staged at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow and Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh, this summer.

DF Concerts, which organises more than 900 events in Scotland each year, said it was pledging to end the sale of single-use plastics at all of its venues and festivals by 2021.

The moves have been announced as part of a new "Green Nation" initiative announced by Live Nation, the parent company of DF Concerts, which also stages the Reading, Leeds Download, Wireless and Latitude festivals.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

DF Concerts chief executive Geoff Ellis said: "We’ve been working with Live Nation for a long time on the Green Nation initiative, and have already put a number of measures in places behind the scenes.

"This year’s TRNSMT festival will be the first large-scale opportunity to implement some key policies that we hope will be embraced by vendors, partners and fans alike.

"Sustainability is a massively important consideration when planning any event – local gig or large-scale festival.

"We appreciate it will not be an overnight success, but we plan to start in earnest now with a long-term view to eliminating single use plastics at our events altogether."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Michael Rapino, president of Live Nation, said: "Hosting over 35,000 concerts and festivals each year, Live Nation has the opportunity and responsibility to provide our artists and fans with a live music experience that protects our planet.

"The adverse effects of climate change are undeniable, and we want to use our place on the world stage to be part of the solution. Together our concerts, venues, festivals, and offices around the world are setting new sustainability standards for live events."