Hi guys!

3/4 weeks away! Wahoo! So I work for an environmental non-profit and we have "Zero-waste" workshops about once a month where we talk about ways you can be more eco-friendly and reduce your environmental impact (I'll talk a little bit about why that's important at the end of this post). We have a section on travel/camp and festivals, so I thought it'd be cool to share some of our tips on here. Some of these are pretty "extreme" (not the right word, but I meant the average person isn't going to be willing to do this), but some of them are super easy to incorporate into our days. Make sure to check out Coachella's page on sustainability to see what they're already doing to minimize their/our environmental impact. Also, Earth Day is on Monday, April 22nd (weekend 2!)

Before the festival

• A lot of us like to buy new clothes/accessories for the festival! Sometimes we may not wear these again. You can reduce your impact in this area by buying secondhand! We already have so much crap in this world. Americans throw away 26 BILLION pounds of clothing per year! By purchasing secondhand you are reducing the amount you're contributing to this, diverting waste, giving something a new life, and you can save money! Plus, you're less likely to be wearing the same thing as someone else. You can really find some unique pieces.
• You can extend this to your camping gear as well. Don't buy brand new canopies, tents, coolers, grills, etc. if you're not someone who frequently goes camping or to music festivals. See if you know someone who can lend you any gear/supplies you need, check craigslist or local Facebook groups (Buy Nothing groups are a great resource!) to see if anyone has any items you can purchase second hand, or maybe even get for free! I know this is difficult if you're coming from out of town. I always recommend people try this, but I haven't heard of it being successful: Find someone who is going the opposite weekend as you can see if you can split the cost of any camping gear you need to purchase. That way you don't each have to purchase brand new items.

At the festival

• Reduce your carbon emissions by carpooling or taking the shuttles!
• Use reusable water bottles whenever possible. I know this is can be a difficult/controversial one as some people have had bad experiences with water refill lines in the past. Suposedly they're fixing that this year. If you can't commit to using only reusable then maybe refill that single-use bottle up as many times as you can. If you walk by a refill station and the lines are short, fill it up! But this can definitely be done at your camp site! Bring camp plates, real cups and real utensils instead of disposable paper plates, plastic solo cups and plastic utensils.
• Use reusables and refuse as much as possible! I bring my own bamboo fork inside, and I always ask for no straw when ordering a drink. California actually passed a law recently that states restaurants can only give you a straw upon request. I'm not sure if that will extend to music festivals. If you want to get super fancy bring a cup for your drinks! I attempted this last year, but it was a hassle to carry it around and I ended up leaving it in my locker and never going back for it. I'm thinking about getting something like this but we'll see.
• Utilize the recycling bins! If you decide you still need to use plastic water bottles and cups then make sure you're putting them in the correct bins. Hard plastics like water bottles and plastic cups are recyclable. Soft plastics like chip bags and zip lock bags are not recyclable! Plastic utensils and straws are not recyclable and bottle caps can only be recycled if they are attached to the bottle. You can even win things for recycling bottles.
• If you need to buy/bring beverages (such as beer, seltzer water, etc.) try ones that cone in aluminum cans instead of plastic! Aluminum can be endlessly recycled, where as plastic bottles (and other plastic items) that are recycled are typically made into lower quality and less desirable plastic products like clothing and carpet fibers. After that they can no longer be recycled. (Thanks r/learhpa)
• Compost as much as you can! Coachella has compost bins set up throughout the festival (I believe they might only be in the food areas, unfortunately). As far as I know, all/most of the plates, paper straws, napkins and food there are compostable. They have signs on the bins and I have even seen a person in the terrace educating everyone about what can go in the compost bin.

After the festival

• At your campsite (and inside the festival as well!) clean up after yourselves. Gather all trash in one bag and recycling in another. They usually give you at least one bag when you go through camp security. Bring extras from home if you think you'll need them.
• If you are coming from out of town and won't be able to bring your camping gear back home with you, donate it! Coachella will donate any camping gear that is left behind.

Do any of you already do any of these? Anything I'm missing? Anything you're planning on doing to honor Earth Day?