Reduce

Our main focus has been on waste, the main environmental problem for festivals. The most important thing is reducing waste generation.

In the near future we would like to tackle the issue of wasting food. Ligikaudu 1/3 kogu maailmas inimeste jaoks toodetud toidust visatakse ära, millest piisaks 3 miljardile inimesele. Seda vett, mida kasutatakse äravisatud toidu tootmiseks, saaks kasutada 9 miljardit inimest, umbes 200 liitrit inimese kohta päevas. Kui toidukadu oleks riik, oleks see suuruselt kolmas kasvuhoonegaaside tootja pärast Hiinat ja USA-d. Jäätmeteket on võimalik vähendada väga mitmel viisil; meie senini suurima möjuga tegevused on loetletud allpool.

Real tableware

In 2019 we did something that has never been seen before in the festival scene in Estonia – we introduced real dishes to our guests. An NGO that puts used things back in circulation, MTÜ Uuskasutuskeskus,jumped on board and lent us nearly 1000 dinnerware sets. For renting and washing the dishes we set up a station and deposit system and used eco-friendly dishwashing soap called Mulieres’And just like that we also banned biodegradable dishes for good, because in reality they are still single-use items.

Cup circle (Topsiring)

Since the beginning of the festival we have used durable reusable cups. We have a deposit system in place for that, just like with the dishes. This is also a way to take care of our planet because by doing that we prevent the use of about 60, 000 single-use cups in four days (if one person drinks about 3 drinks) – that’s an immense amount.

A festival free of bottled water 

Our guests have always had an option to drink tap water for free or buy bottled sparkling or still water from the bars. But since 2021 we use only tap water and the sparkling water is delivered in reusable containers. By doing that we prevent approximately 65,000 disposable 0.5 litre water bottles from being used during our 4-day event. In February of 2020 we joined the global BYOBottle campaign initiated by the music industry. BYOBottle kampaaniaga.

Plastic straw free festival

We don’t serve drinks with plastic straws. If the guest really-really wants it, they can ask for a hollow pasta-straw or buy a straw made of reed from Saaremaa. Both of these are later composted. We calculated that we’ll avoid using around 10,000 – 15,000 single-use plastic straws by doing that.

Print-free festival

We don’t print posters, flyers or festival programmes. Ever. Instead we use different online mediums and the power of word-to-mouth to get our message out. There aren’t any roll-ups or printed banners at our festival site, either. We prevent 2,500 units of paper from being produced by not printing 500 posters, 1,000 flyers and 1,000 program sheets.