On the banks of the Murray river, people come together at Strawberry Fields for the music and good vibes – and along with them comes the Trash.
Earth Warriors have been patrolling the Fields of Strawberries for several years now, making sure that rubbish is captured before it can escape and enlisting the patrons to raise their arms in the War on Waste.
This year we decided to go large, with a big presence at the Opening Ceremony, positive incentives for people to improve their waste awareness and some threats of punishment (such as moving them to the naughty corner) for those who were facilitating giant piles of trash in their campsite.
We also rocked the campsites morning and evening with the upcycled Troop Carrier:
The results were phenomenal.
Campers would start cleaning their campsite as soon as we came by the ghettos, a welcome sight for an Earth Warrior who can’t stand to see rubbish lying around and unsorted.
When we came upon a campsite filled with trash and abandoned by revelling campers, we would geotag and photograph the site so we could return the next morning to make sure it was taken care of. Can’t have those plastic bags flying around and ending up in the river!
Most campers were very happy to have us help clean up, especially considering they were a bit tender from all the partying. In the end the statistics showed that all these measures had a noticeable effect on the quantity of waste at the festival’s end.
Reduction is just a step in the right direction – recycling and reuse are what builds momentum into the green zone.
Let’s hope that with Operation Strawberry and continued innovation, Strawberry Fields continues to move further towards being a zero-waste festival.
General Junkie
November 2018
