As part of its drive to improve packaging collection outside the home, Fost Plus has worked with the festival sector for years. Early on, the focus was on understanding the challenges of separated waste collection at festivals. Over time, this has evolved into practical, on-site support, alongside the private waste operators responsible for removing the different waste streams. However, the goal now is to encourage festivals to take greater responsibility and become more self-sufficient. To that end, we’ve teamed up with two partners for the 2025 festival season: Ecofest and CUPernicus.
Ecofest provides organisers with a full-service waste management solution, covering everything from infrastructure advice to festival site staffing. CUPernicus is an independent expert in reusable cups, helping organisations set up the right logistics and communication flows to maximise the return of cups for reuse.
Christine Vermeulen, Project Manager at Fost Plus: ‘By getting involved on site ourselves, we’ve come to appreciate that each festival’s needs vary according to visitor profiles, food and drink options, location and more. Although the general approach we developed was a good first step, we’ve recognised a specific need for more on-site support. That’s why we’re helping to cover the costs of Ecofest and CUPernicus. This creates a scalable approach that festivals can genuinely put into practice.’
The aim is to review the approach at the end of the festival season and, if appropriate, expand it next year.
