The bands may have only just stopped playing, but international volunteers have already salvaged hundreds of reusable camping equipment from the site of this year’s Leeds Festival.
Over 238 tents (including Pop-Up tents), 164 mats, 177 chairs, 72 wellingtons, and other equipment has been recovered since this Monday morning alone, despite the rain – much of it in near brand new condition.
The equipment was recovered by a team of sixty volunteers from all around Europe, as part of an environmental effort organised by Everything is Possible. The ‘Green Messenger’ project plans to pass the equipment on to community organisations and individuals in Leeds and in the Yorkshire at a ‘community exchange’ sale this week. Much of the camping gear was left strewn across the festival site at Bramham Park by attendees, but some of it was also donated directly by festival goers.
Project volunteers flocked from Italy, Poland, Portugal, Estonia, Spain and across the UK to participate in the clean-up – in exchange for a free ticket to the three day festival itself, during which they also helped promote recyling.
Carmen Avoledo, from Italy, said: “I enjoy the project because it is a good thing to do for the society. It increases awareness of the waste problem. I will never throw anything away anymore. I am also learning a bit more of the culture of the other volunteers.’’
The salvage will continue until today (Tuesday 28th August), and the community-exchange will take place on Wednesday 29th (for organisations) and Thursday 30th (for organisations and individuals) at ReWork Office furniture from 10am to 4pm. Equipment will be passed on for a small donation, with money raised going towards developing international projects for young people with fewer opportunities in the UK and all around the world.
The project was supported by Festival Republic, the British Council and the European Union.
