GUIDE: HOW TO BE GREEN AT ROSKILDE FESTIVAL

Sustainability at Roskilde Festival is integrated in everything from food stalls to waste management. As a festival-goer you can also make a tremendous difference to the environment if you follow these five pieces of advice.

This guide was made by The Green Youth Movement (Den Grønne Ungdomsbevægelse)

1

Invest in quality products that you can re-use for years.

A considerable part of the waste at Roskilde Festival consists of camping gear of poor quality that cannot be re-used. It's often made of materials that simply isn't fit to be used again.

The combination of recovering materials, production and transportation make up a huge climate impact. Several products are made of fossil materials. An abundance of air mattresses (including the classic blue ones) and tents contain soft PVC, which is very damaging to the environment. Waste containing PVC is difficult to use again and toxic to burn. For this reason such air mattresses are simply buried, only for the future generations to inherit the problem.

Consequently, the best thing you can do for the environment is to buy quality tents, sleeping bags, air mattresses, pavilions and so on. It might cost you a little more this year, but it will make you happy again next year. Bonus: You won't have to wrap your camping chair in gaffer tape again and again, but will be flying through it all in your majestic (camping)chair. 

2

Make an exit plan for you and your stuff before you leave.

Imagine the scene: It's Saturday night or Sunday morning, the festival is over, and you have the hangover to end all hangovers. It's all a bit too much. This is exactly why you need an exit strategy for you and your camp: How do we clean up the camp, and how do we get everything home. Make this plan with your camp before it's suddenly Saturday, and you can't make any decisions any more. There are different options to get your stuff home if you can't bother to bring them with you on the train.

3

Camp climate talks!

Whether you're a camp full of climate activists or not, use the festival and the planning as an opportunity to talks climate and sustainability with your friends. If you can agree to buy better equipment and take the train home together, it'll be a lot easier to actually make it happen. Make agreements beforehand, so you make it easy for yourselves to make the right choices.

4

Replace canned tuna with chickpeas and baked beans.

What you eat can also leave a considerable environmental and climate foot print. Calculations from think tank Concito show that the biggest climate difference you can make when it comes to food is to swap meat and dairy for plant-based food. Pack a bag full of good proteins from the plant kingdom. Extra incentive: most plant-based spreads, whether glassed or canned, don't even need to be kept cool.

5

Use public transportation to the festival.

Transportation is a heavy climate sinner, so think about your own use. Take the train to the festival or consider carpooling if the train is out of the question. You can take the train all the way to the festival's own train station. All you have to do is change trains at Roskilde Station.

This guide was written by Emma Lorenzen and Mads Adam Wegener from The Green Youth Movement (Den Grønne Ungdomsbevægelse).