Pohoda expands its ecological activities
“Pohoda is a shining example, individual and a great and leading European festival!” These were the words of Teresa Moore, the director of the A Greener Festival initiative, at awarding the Green Operations Award to the Pohoda Festival in Groningen, Netherlands at the European Festival Awards. We react to the award by introducing some more ecological innovations.
30. January 2018
An important change will be introduced in dealing with waste. In addition to the increase in the number of litter stations, there will be more collection points where trained staff will sort the waste. The points will be located mostly in food stand areas and they should function as big “pits” where you can bring your waste (not only) from food. Biological waste including plates and cutlery made of degradable materials will then be composted on site. It is a simple solution aimed at another significant improvement in the cleanliness of the grounds; we believe that visitors will actively support this measure—the goal is clean tables and benches, no “scents” of food leftovers from previous gourmets, and no annoying insects. We will also use more types of the popular reusable cups for serving the small volume beverages (limo, wine, sparkling wine), which will mean a complete elimination of the use of disposable plastic cups at the festival. Pohoda plans to deal with the many cigarette-ends by placing significantly more ashtrays on the grounds as well as by distributing personal ashtrays. We expect smokers to use them and respect the ban on smoking in the tents and in the Family Park.
Electric car owners can look forward to a temporary charging station that will be installed in the parking lot. Pohoda will also introduce new solutions in using solar energy; already this year, the share of energy from the fixed network will increase due a higher number of temporary delivery points. The 2018 festival wear (merchandise) will all be printed using GOST (Global Organic Textile Standard) textile colours. In addition, clothes will be contained in degradable packaging, and they will be fair wear products (fair trade equivalent in the apparel industry).
“The feeling of a strong festival community that we experience every year at the Trenčín airport is amazing. There are many things in the hands of visitors during the festival; Pohodans are becoming a European phenomenon, thanks to their approach to cleanliness and to the grounds as such, to each other, and to the environment around them. For example, when we show pictures of our tent camps after Pohoda, many people refuse to believe that we did not clean the camps before taking photos. We believe that our visitors will accept the novelties for the year 2018, that they will enjoy them, and that they will this way contribute to the building of an even nicer festival”. Michal Kaščák