Robert Kearle - Glastonbury's recycling man talks rubbish

The event already recycles 50% of its rubbish but a number of new environmental initiatives look set to make Glastonbury one of the greenest festivals.

Pledging to make better use of power and reduce transport, Glastonbury will continue to do its bit for the environment with a ban on plastic in place for 2008. The eco-enemy will be replaced by wooden cutlery and compostable cups while programmes will come in cotton bags.

To encourage those with tents to avoid using metal pegs, which are dangerous to cows and damage farming equipment, 1 million biodegradable tent pegs will be handed out to people as they arrive. Festival organiser Michael Eavis hopes the eco-friendly tent pegs made from wheat and potatoes will be “another important step towards changing our attitudes.”

Responsible implementing this strategy, as well as recycling and tidying up after the 170,000 revellers that descend on Worthy Farm each year, Rubbish Manager Robert Kearle explains his role in reducing Glastonbury’s carbon footprint.

Virtual Festivals: You’re responsible for recycling and waste management. Take us through your job.
Robert Kearle: “Early on in the year we do all the planning. Obviously there were a lot of lessons to learn from last year with everything that was left behind; principally not to use organisations like Global Hand and instead go straight for a proper business. So, this year, we signed up ECT to do all the waste haulage and recycle all the camping equipment, tents and clothing that’s left. Obviously the message is still to take your stuff home because environmentally it’s the best thing to take it with you and re-use it. ECT have already taken about 5 tonnes of wellies that we kept from last year, so that’s quite good. The car parks were just littered with them, all nice and neatly positioned in their pairs! It was literally like people got in the car, took the wellies off, left them outside the door and drove off! At the bus station there was a lovely big mound of wellies where everyone had just chucked their wellies before they got onto the bus.”

VF: The site must look like a war zone afterwards...
RK: “It did this time, for the first time ever really. We had about 18 hours of rain on the Monday when everyone was going, so everybody was just getting out of here. Obviously tents are cheap nowadays, it’s a disposable lifestyle that we have, so they were just left behind. This year should be better. ECT are also the people that Somerset County Council have signed up for 21 years to do all their recycling. That’s been on the cards for a few years and as soon as it happened we managed to sign them up as well. They’re obviously very enthusiastic about doing Glastonbury, and it’s all good for us. We’ve also got a couple of managers that used to be with Network Recycling who do the day to day management of recycling during the show, and they form their own company called Festival Recycling. The benefit to us of that is that instead of just getting them for 2 weeks, we get them for the whole of June and July so they can do the whole build up, during, and then the whole take down of the show and look for more opportunities for recycling which is the way forward.”

VF: What do you think are the biggest challenges for you this year?
RK: “Well obviously it’s going to be very sunny and dry! It’s different every year really. The left tent sitiation was totally new for us. In the past we’d only ever had a couple of hundred left and local groups of charities and individuals managed to take most of them but last year we had 15-20,000! You can never really expect what the new challenge is going to be, you just have to deal with it when it comes and be flexible. We’ve got a fantastic team of people, mainly travellers actually, and we also employ a lot of Eastern European labour which has had quite a lot of bad press lately. The Eastern European’s are fantastic people and the travellers really appreciate the fact that they can park up here and be safe, and they stick around until the job is done. Obviously they get paid and fed, it’s a good, clean place to stay and they don’t get any hassle from the police or locals who are a bit right wing. The first of that group will be here in May to help with the set up and work all the way through until the last thing is picked up. Last year they were still here in September! This show probably couldn’t run without the travellers.”

VF: It’s good to see that link is still there because a lot of people say that element has been lost since the fence went up.
RK: “It’s certainly become a little bit tamer but that’s probably better for most people nowadays. I’m not sure that they would have coped with the wildness of the 80s! That element is still there in Shangri-La and various little areas all over the site, you still get that lively traveller, slightly dodgy alternative going on.”

VF: What’s the message to people this year in terms of taking their own stuff home?
RK: “Certainly take your own stuff home but i’m bothered with all this messaging to people. Come and enjoy yourself! That’s what you’re supposed to do! You’re coming to a festival, you’re coming to the best festival in the world. We’ve won that three times now. It’s because we don’t push people around, we don’t tell them this is only private, this is only for the celebrities. Everyone can come and have a great time and that’s the message that everyone should learn. Come, enjoy!”

VF: Why do you think it is the best festival in the world? What’s the secret behind it?
RK: “It’s not run by a big company wanting to make vast profits. It’s still run by all the people that have always run it who just want to do an event so people can enjoy it. The emphasis isn’t on how much profit is made because the majority of the profits go to the three charities anyway. I think that’s why it’s still the best festival because tens of thousands of people work here to make it so and give their all because it isn’t just making a few fat cats rich.”

VF: Is there anything you can tell us that might be a bit different this year? Anything you’re particularly excited about?
RK: “I think the replacement of Lost Vagueness is going to be quite good because it was great in it’s day but it had run it’s course. The changes up there are going to be fantastic.
Emily’s (Eavis) park went down very well last year and i’m sure they’ve got lots of new things happening. Obviously with the tragic loss of Arabella from circus and theatre, it’s going to be interesting to see how that will muse but i’m sure they’ll do a fantastic job, it will allow some younger blood to come through and do their own thing. It’s all those smaller things that I look forward to, not really the headline bands.”

VF: Do you have a chance to go out and enjoy it or are you working pretty hard over the weekend?
RK: “I’m working but fortunately my job is during the festival and because there’s so many people working under me it just entails walking around sorting out problems as they arise, so I get to see the whole site. It’s really nice to walk through circus and theatre and see an act on the side of the walkway just doing their thing or catching a small band on a tiny stage up in the Greenfields. That’s what i like rather than the big stuff.”

VF: Do you think this year is going to be a classic?
RK: “Yes it’s going to be lovely and dry and really hot, everyone will have a sun tan! A couple of the locals, real country people like the hedge layers and old farmer boys, have told me that there are lots of ladybirds around which is always a prequel to a long, hot summer, as it was in ’76 and ’77. So they’re forecasting a long hot summer!”

VF: Starting on the final weekend of June?
RK: “No a couple of weeks before so we have a nice easy build up and then running through until we finish clearing up. I think we’ve had three in a row that have been wet so i think we are certainly due a good one! It’s going to be really hot, so come and enjoy!”

Glastonbury Festival 2008 takes place at Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset, from 27-29 June. Tickets go on sale on 6 April and you must have already registered to be legible.