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The Regatta Festival Essentials Guide

Last updated: 08/07/2020

Look After The Land!

Remember to stay as eco-friendly as possible at festivals and respect the land.

Packing for a festival can be a tricky task. Festival Goers everywhere face the same dilemma; what to take to a festival. While a few festival essentials such as a tent and your ticket are obvious, there are often a number of must-have items left behind. We've created a helpful guide to make sure your upcoming festival is the best ever. Have a quick look at our festival guide and pack along as you go. Whether you're packing for a music festival here in the UK or abroad, many of the items listed will be equally useful.

Festival Essentials

Here are a few must-have items for attending any festival. Always double check you have all of the essential festival gear before setting off.

Festival Ticket

Without a ticket, you will be unable to attend any festival. Double check that you have your ticket before leaving. If your ticket is on your phone, first check that you do not need to print it off before arriving at the festival.

ID

The majority of festivals in the UK require proof of age before entering the festival site. Even if you are comfortably over the age of 18, it's a good idea to take proof of age just in case.

Cash (not card!)

Even the most well-prepared festival goers will have to spend some money at some point. Make sure to take cash with you to a festival. Often food stalls won't accept card payments and card machines on a festival site will often charge you for taking your own money out. Use a bum bag for easy storage.

Make Sure!

Always keep your cash on you and do not leave it in your tent.

Mobile Phone

Bringing a mobile along is always advisable when attending a festival. That being said, it could be a good idea to take an old phone instead of your current day-to-day phone. Due to the remote locations of many festivals, internet data is not always accessible. An old phone which you can use for calls or texts is all you will need.

Festival Camping Equipment

Camping Tent

Your tent will serve as your basecamp during your festival so it's important to pick wisely. Having a great tent will make all the difference when you finally get some rest after a day of dancing and having fun. Pop-up tents are a quick, easy option for festival goers who don't want any fuss. They're also light and easy to carry over long distances, which is ideal when attending a festival.
Shop Regatta Festival Tents
Take Your Tent Home!

Always pack up your tent and take it back home with you at the end of the festival.

Sleeping Bag

An essential for when the music stops and the parties end, sleep well with a good sleeping bag and get ready to do it all again the following day.
Shop Sleeping Bags
Rucksack

A must-have for carting all of your equipment, clothes and camping gear to and from the drop-off point or carpark.
Shop Rucksacks
Roll Mat

A lightweight roll mat comes in really handy, they're easy to carry and much more comfortable than sleeping on the floor. While you may prefer to take an airbed, they are often much heavier and can cause problems if you have a lot to carry over the festival site.
Shop Roll Mat's
Torch

For trips to the toilet during the night and finding your belongings after dark, a personal touch is a great piece of kit for any festival.
Shop Regatta Torches
Microfibre Towels

When it inevitably rains, you don't want to get the inside of your tent wet. That's why it's useful to pack a good microfibre towel to use to dry off your body and wipe down any water you tread into the tent.

General Festival Tips

Camp on high ground

Make sure to pitch your tent on high ground and avoid setting up camp in a ditch or low lying ground. If there is heavy rain during the festival, the ditch will collect water which can easily result in your camp becoming waterlogged. Check out our guide to camping in the rain for more advice.

Make campsite friends

Make friends with your neighbours when you first arrive in the campsite. Getting to know the faces around you will help to protect your belongings from potential theft while you're away from camp.

Always set a meet up point

When you first arrive at a festival, make sure to set a meeting point in the event that your group or family becomes separated. Make your meeting point a landmark which is easily identifiable both during the day and at night.

Top Tip: If you have young children, tie a bracelet to their wrist with your contact number on, in case you become separated a member of staff will be able to quickly and easily contact you.

Save your phone battery

It could be a good idea to purchase a portable charger before you head to your festival. Paying to charge your phone at a festival can be an expensive addition to your weekend in the fields.

Check the weather forecast

Festival Clothing

Campsite Clothing

It's a good idea to take some comfortable clothing which you can wear around the campsite first thing in the morning or for an evening when you're relaxing. Typically you should think about taking a few t-shirts, comfortable trousers and a warm jumper for cold evenings. Don't forget to check the weather before packing for the weekend, this should determine the type of clothing you should take!

Festival Outfits

Plan a few outfits you plan on wearing to visit the festival site. Even if the weather is looking gloomy, you can stay on trend with our festival-inspired raincoats. Our raincoats are nice and lightweight so they can be easily stored in a day bag or within your tent if the weather brightens up. If you're lucky enough to see some sunshine during your festival visit, make sure you take along a pair of shorts to make the most of it!
Shop Men's Festival Clothing Shop Women's Festival Clothing
Wellies or Walking Boots

If you're heading to any festival in the UK this summer, you're going to need a good pair of wellies. Avoid ruining your trainers in the mud by choosing the correct footwear. Packing a pair of wellies is going to make your time a lot more enjoyable if the rain starts to pour.
Shop Men's Wellies Shop Women's Wellies
What to avoid packing

Glass Bottles

It's not uncommon for festivals to ban glass bottles in both the campsite and festival arena. To avoid losing your drinks before entering the festival, choose drinks which are contained within cans. Alternatively, you could take an eco-friendly refillable bottle with you.
Shop Camping Bottles
Too much for you to carry

Don't forget when you're packing that everything you bring will have to be carried a potentially long distance. Make your life as easy as possible by only packing the essentials. Perhaps invest in a festival trolley, which allows for further mobility of your equipment without causing unnecessary strain on your back.

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Festival Essentials: The Complete Festival Checklist

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Last updated: 08/07/2020 Look After The Land! Remember to stay as eco-friendly as possible at festivals and respect the land. Packing for a festival can be a tricky task. Festival Goers everywhere face the same dilemma; what to take to a festival.

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I was really shocked by the statistics in this website, what do you think?

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How many skips does festival waste fill? How many tonnes are produced? Is it recycled? Do our beloved UK music festivals have initiatives in place to improve on their environmental impact? We have investigated to bring you all the facts and figures.

People attend music festivals to have a good time, and perhaps escape everyday life for a few days, but have you ever stopped to think about how much waste is produced by these festivals - some of which are so big they are essentially a large temporary town? Have you ever wondered about how much of the waste produced is recycled, or what green initiatives the festival organisers have in place to cut waste and litter? With the number of music festivals being hosted in the UK growing by 34 per cent in just four years, these are questions that need to be asked.

How are festivals trying to reduce and manage their waste?

Our research has led to us uncovering a vast array of interesting initiatives at music festivals, most of which are trying hard to improve on their green statistics from previous years, and lessen their environmental impact. We go in to detail about a few of these below.

General waste / rubbish

Festivals are very keen to produce the least amount of waste possible, as they know they will suffer criticism if not. It has been found that half of festival-goers would happily pay more to attend a greener event, as opposed to an event known for its litter and waste problems. Also, most say "noise, waste and traffic have a negative impact on the festival experience".

Some festivals - including Acoustic Festival and Larmer Tree Festival - recycle ALL of the waste produced onsite, meaning the waste which isn't recyclable in the classic sense gets turned into energy, leaving nothing for landfill.

Cambridge Folk Festival recycled all but 2% of their waste in 2015, and are aiming for 100% recycling this year. They're also hoping to recycle at least 50% onsite this year, as last year 36% of the sorting and recycling took place offsite, which uses more energy.

In 2014, Glastonbury Festival recycled 54% of the waste produced onsite. The graph below shows the breakdown of the recyclable waste types at the festival.

Reading Festival only managed to recycle about a quarter of their total waste in 2013 and 2014, as you can see in the chart below. In fact, there was a 205 tonne increase in waste produced on site between 2013 and 2014, combined with a 2% drop overall in recycling. 2013 saw 433 tonnes of waste and 169 tonnes recycled, and 2014 saw 596 tonnes and 214 tonnes recycled.

However, their sister festival - Leeds Festival - kicked Reading's butt in 2014 and managed to recycle a healthy 82.4% of their waste! There was 13 times more waste recycled at Leeds Festival in 2014 than in 2013. 887 tonnes of waste were sent to landfill in 2013, with 54 tonnes being recycled. Then, in 2014 the tables turned dramatically, and 120 tonnes of waste was sent to landfill with 568 tonnes recycled. That is still 120 tonnes too much being sent to landfill, but certainly a step in the right direction, as shown in the chart below.

Litter

Some festivals issue rubbish bags to festival-goers on arrival, and add a charge to their tickets, which is refunded if a bag of rubbish is returned at some point during the festival. This aims to keep litter to a minimum, and keep rubbish off the floor where it can quickly impact on the local environment.

Cup deposit schemes are becoming increasingly popular and successful at festivals, where attendees only get their deposit back if they return the reusable cup they've been using. Stepping Stones Festival told us this tactic works really well for them, with many people taking the cups home as a cheap souvenir, and the majority of the rest being returned for the deposit. This way, none end up on the floor or in landfill.

All festivals seem to have increased the number of bins on site, which are clearly labelled with what they are for (general waste, plastic, paper, etc.) The problem seems to be bins overflowing with rubbish, as they are not emptied often enough.

Plastics

Plastic is often seen as the most evil of the recyclables - mainly due to the toxins it can contain, which can leach into the environment if the plastic becomes litter. Plastic is also not as easy to recycle as other materials, and therefore uses more energy. For these reasons, some festivals have cut plastic out of their disposable food and drink packaging altogether. Limetree Festival is this year going plastic-free, and will be providing free tap water throughout the festival, as well as encouraging festival-goers to take advantage of the natural spring onsite. As aforementioned, Glastonbury are this year giving out stainless steel drinks containers for a £5 deposit, in an attempt to cut their plastic bottle consumption: around one million plastic bottles are usually used and disposed of at Glastonbury each year!

Tents

Tents are a modern nightmare for the organisers of music festivals, thanks to a troublesome combination of increasingly low tent prices, poor tent quality, and apathetic festival-goers. Some festivals, including Bestival, collect up the abandoned tents and donate them to humanitarian charities - recycling them for others to use.

Interestingly, the Isle of Wight festival now features special 'Love Your Tent' camping fields, in which everyone signs a code of conduct when they arrive, agreeing to remove all of their belongings when they leave. And it works! In 2014, 1450 campers stayed in the designated fields, and not one tent or item of rubbish was left behind! Compare that to your typical music festival camping aftermath, and you realise they might be on to something there.

Toilets

Everyone's least favourite aspect of music festivals: the toilets. In the past, and to this day at some festivals, all of the toilets are chemical - meaning they are far from environmentally friendly, and are adding to landfill. However, some festivals are moving towards more sensible options, with Glastonbury banishing chemical loos forever (save 150) in favour of eco-friendly long-drop toilets and compost loos, the results of which are later spread on farms to help crops grow.

Glastonbury Festival has just been fined in court for causing pollution during last year's festivities, due to a human sewage leak, which ran into the nearby waterways and killed over 40 fish - some of which were very rare. Perhaps the move to long drop and compost loos will stop any repeats of this incident.

Are attempts to be more environmentally friendly working?

Some festivals are doing extraordinarily well at keeping waste to a minimum, minimising their environmental impact, and leaving no trace after the event. Others, not so well. Take Latitude Festival for example: this festival created 157 tonnes of landfill waste in 2014 and 43 tonnes of recycled waste. As you can see in the chart below, that is really not good! The most concerning thing about these figures is, Latitide have a green policy in place which involves handing out clear bags to all party-goers for their recyclables, a cup deposit scheme, and entry to a prize draw for those returning a bag of waste to their waste points. Whilst in 2014 they did improve on 2013's efforts, more needs to be done.

What's the key to environmental success?

Aside from cancelling all our music festivals, which isn't an option, how can we make them as environmentally friendly as possible, cut their waste production, and cut their carbon footprints? Mike of Acoustic Festival, which runs 75% of the festival on solar energy and recycles all their waste, says their environmental success is down to "attract[ing] a green and tidy ethos/person who all do their bit".

Some green initiatives which, according to our research, seem to work well at reducing waste and litter at music festivals include:

Getting attendees to read and sign a green agreement

Banning 'disposable' plastic from the site

Giving every festival-goer a reusable cup, using a deposit scheme

Ensuring all catering vendors use compostable, biodegradable, or at least easily recyclable containers and wrappers

Issuing all festival-goers with bags for their rubbish / recycling, and a reward scheme for returning the bags full

Of course, there are many other environmental aspects to take into account with music festivals, including carbon footprints, and the lasting impact on the land used.

However, it is great that the green impact of music festivals is being considered nowadays - for so long, it was ignored by most festivals and attendees. The reduction of waste production is key, as opposed to just recycling as much as possible: prevention, as they say, is so much better than a 'cure'. I look forward to seeing what new initiatives are trialed in the future, and hope to see a real focus on waste reduction.
Featured image credit: monkeybusinessimages

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How much waste is really produced at UK music festivals? - The Forge Skip Hire Leeds Blog

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Nielsen Music reports that 52 percent of the U.S. population attends a live music event every year, the majority if not all offer single-use plastic bottles of water for sale. Just a few years ago, The Desert Sun reported Coachella - one of the biggest music festivals in the country - contributes to 107 tons of waste with only 20 percent of it recycled. With 125,000 music lovers attending this festival alone, set against the backdrop of the desert heat, the number of plastic water bottles are plentiful to say the least.

Fortunately, Coachella and other music festivals across the nation are implementing initiatives to promote more sustainable concerts. With the majority of Americans saying they feel global warming is personally important, it affects their everyday decisions, including considering their sustainability options wherever they go. Now at 72 percent, the number of people continues to surge, per researchers at Yale and George Mason University.

This issue is on the forefront among the millennial and Gen Z demographics, two of the largest groups attending music festival every year. They are changing their buying habits with the planet in mind. Many artists and venue operators have already led the charge in its efforts to reduce the negative environmental impact that's linked with music festivals and other live music events.

Whether it includes carpooling, offering a recycling center or merchandise, eliminating plastic waste, or providing water refill stations, it's essential for music venues and artists to support these progressive steps in going green. When they take action and promote it consistently, fans and the rest of the public follow suit.

Eco-friendly music festivals and their activities become a primary action rather than a secondary thought. The more this continues to be a long-lasting habit, it shifts how people will approach organizing and attending live concerts in the future. Here are a few ways everyone can pitch in and do their part and make a significant difference in the protection of our magnificent planet.

Increasing the Use of Carpools and Public Transportation

Coachella offers prizes for those participating in Carpoolchella, the initiative that encourages people to ride with four or more people to save on CO2 emissions. Lollapalooza offers a complimentary bike valet through ChainLinks, which provides repairs, maintenance, and bike safety tips for festival goers.

This popular Chicago music festival also partners with Divvy, the city's bike-sharing system to offer the first ride for free. Other major music festivals encourage rideshare and public transportation to get to and from the venue. They often offer discount codes and/or free rides making it easy for attendees to reconsider their transportation options, if they're thinking about driving to the event. Not only does it cut down on the gas and CO2 emissions, it's a money saver for those attending and cuts the stress of traffic and parking for attendees.

Following a Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Mentality

Many music festivals have started to offer compost and recycling bins, in addition to their regular trash containers. Musician Jack Johnson, a long-time environmental advocate, aims for a zero waste tour as part of his efforts to build sustainable concerts. Live Nation also announced its aim to be zero waste through its offices, venues, and events with a 50 percent or higher material recovery rate by 2030.

Having the resources available for people onsite that are regularly emptied and maintained makes it easier to encourage each person to participate when they're enjoying the festival. In addition, venues and artists are hosting specially designated spots to promote education and additional resources to promote sustainability efforts and other ways people can help outside of the music festival grounds.

Relying on Sustainable Materials and Conservation Efforts

In addition to recycling, concert venues are aiming to go green by using sustainable materials. For example, San Diego's KAABOO music festival supports this effort by maximizing the use of plant-fiber food-serving materials as well as providing composting stations throughout the venue. They have also implemented a holistic sustainability program, KAABOO Kindness: Land + Sea, which specifically focuses on ocean health and coastal preservation. Its goal is to better understand and continue to improve the environmental footprint of its festival production.

Other performers such as The Dave Matthews Band use sustainable materials whenever possible. Their tour bus is fueled by biodiesel. And they are committed to planting one million trees and invites fans to join this conservation campaign as part of a forest restoration effort with the support of The Dreaming Tree Wines and Docusign.

As performers and venues continue to lead by example and openly encourage their fans and attendees to do the same, it promotes education about climate change and allows people to feel like they can make a difference too. Among the many environmental issues that concern the younger generations of concert goers today include climate change, pollution, and global warming. They are making decisions based on these issues and aren't afraid to speak out when they're not addressed.

Eliminating Plastic Waste from All Venues

The sheer amount of plastic waste generated by music festivals worldwide is not a new problem. The total amount reaches numbers into the tons of plastic straws, cups, packaging, and single-use water bottles. It was estimated the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee generated over 679 tons of waste in a four-day period a few years ago.

Since then, they, too, have increased their sustainability efforts. In its 2018 annual sustainability report, it illustrated the breakdown of how it diverted 351 tons of waste to be reused, composted, donated, or recycled. Other music festivals and individual concerts have followed suit by being transparent with their goals and achievements.

Eliminating single-use plastics has been a growing cause for most states, particularly California, a state that bans single-use plastic bags and straws. Venues may offer "straws by request" similar to current restaurant policies and providing alternative materials for food and drink offered at these festivals.

In addition to its zero waste efforts, Live Nation will be ending the sale of single-use plastics at all owned and operated venues and events by 2021. Although waste cleanup is part of every music festival experience, eliminating the problem beforehand is instrumental in truly reducing the carbon footprint of those who attend music festivals every year.

Offering Filtered Water Refill Stations

As the sustainable alternative to single-use plastic bottles, making filtered water refill stations easily accessible is key. With tens of thousands of people pouring into a music site all day and often for multiple days, maintaining hydration is a priority. FloWater is a great choice for festival managers to invest in for their attendees for several reasons.

First, it eliminates the need for plastic water bottles. Each person can bring their own reusable container to keep with them throughout the festival. Second, the FloWater Refill Station can handle a high-capacity crowd. It holds seven gallons of purified water at all times, on-demand. The tanks are automatically replenished every time water is dispensed and it can fill up a 24-oz. bottle in under 10 seconds, which helps move lines quickly.

A third benefit is the water is always dispensed at the optimal drinking temperature of 42 degrees. For hot days spent outside in the sunshine, people want purified water that tastes great but also is chilled to perfection. These are only a few of the many reasons why these are a good investment for festival planners and program operators.

By setting up FloWater Refill Stations in various areas of the venue, this is a valuable solution for promoting sustainable concerts and providing attendees a resource they need. It's no longer about having water refill stations as an added perk to festival experiences, attendees are expecting it as a staple.

The Future of Music Festival Sustainability

Festival organizers, music venues, artists, and fans have banded together to battle climate change and do what they can to reduce their collective carbon footprint. Even within a few years, policies have been updated and expanded to accommodate growing sustainability initiatives. Every year, there are new strategies and opportunities to educate and raise awareness about what can be done to help.

With many future efforts focused on zero waste music festivals and an even greater push for sustainable concerts, it gives people entertainment they've loved for years without having to compromise their environmental values. Climate change, global warming, and other issues that affect the planet are vital to the majority of people. When there are ways they can pitch in and help, they will. When festival managers make the effort to make these resources readily available, it's all that's needed for everyone to step in and take action immediately. The result is greener, cleaner concert experiences that help to protect the planet. What are considered new ideas now will soon be the benchmark for the future. There will be greater use of environmentally sustainable materials, less or zero plastic waste, while still offering the amenities concert goers desire. Providing fresh, filtered water through FloWater's Refill Stations will become part of the norm of perpetuating an environmentally friendly experience.
Sources:

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Sustainable Concerts: Music Festivals Take Steps to Go Green

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Nielsen Music reports that 52 percent of the U.S. population attends a live music event every year, the majority if not all offer single-use plastic bottles of water for sale. Just a few years ago, The Desert Sun reported Coachella - one of the biggest music festivals in the country - contributes to 107 tons of waste with only 20 percent of it recycled.

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How much waste is generated from festivals?

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How much waste is generated from festivals?

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Each year festivals generate around 23,500 tons of waste! 68% of which goes to landfill.

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Examples of green measures that festivals are currently taking place:

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Examples of green measures that festivals are currently taking place:

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1. Compost toilets.
2. Cardboard tents.
3. Reuse, refill & recycle drinking cups.

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How to correctly dispose of waste at festivals:

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How to correctly dispose of waste at festivals:

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1. Outline waste materials for recycling and disposal.

2. Gather a team of waste pickers.

3. Encourage guests to correctly dispose of festival waste.

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What Happens To The Waste Of 200,000 People At Glastonbury? | BBC Earth

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Top 11 things recommended NOT to take to festivals:

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Top 11 things recommended NOT to take to festivals:

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1. Gazebos

2. Glass items

3. Non-biodegradable body glitter

4. Pets

5. Fireworks & sky lanterns

6. Sound systems & drums

7. Generators

8. Drones

9. Unnecessary things

10. Too much alcohol

11. Illegal substances

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An image of the rubbish left behind at a festival, 

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An image of the rubbish left behind at a festival, 

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Types of products disposed of at festivals:

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Types of products disposed of at festivals:

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1. Food & drink

2. Toiletries

3. Cardboard

4. Plastic

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How to be sustainable this festival season | BBC Earth

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Help take care of Mother Earth this festival season

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How Festivals are becoming Greener Shauna CoatesJuly 20, 2022 Compost toilets, cardboard tents and refillable cups: How Festivals are becoming GreenerFestivals and sustainability don't often go hand in hand. British festivals alone produce around 23,500 tonnes of waste each year, with nearly 70% of that waste ending up in landfill.

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But how many people make the effort to discard their waste properly? According to The Waste Place, "there is an estimated 10,000 tons plus a year of waste generated from festivals, tents, cups, food containers and other associated items" ( The Waste Place, February 2018). At Biffa, we understand the excitement and planning involved with hosting and attending festivals, but we also understand the impact that festival waste can have on the environment.

That's why we've come up with some top tips for effective festival waste management, so the next time your organisation hosts an outdoor event, you can rest assured that your efforts are helping minimise the amount of harmful waste affecting the environment.

1. Outline waste materials for recycling and disposal

Before your festival begins, it's imperative that you and your organisation have clear guidelines on which types of waste will be expected, and whether they can be recycled:

Are all these materials recyclable? Aluminium drink cans and foil wrap certainly are, but what about plastics such as straws, cling film and plastic bags?

You can encourage your festival-goers to ditch the plastic coffee cups by simply not providing them! Why not make it clear at the ticketing stage that you expect ticketholders to bring a reusable cup for their caffeine requirements? Recyclable cardboard straws are an easy alternative to plastic, as are re-usable tote bags in place of plastic carrier bags.

Once you've outlined the main waste materials that can be recycled, you can set up recycling stations throughout your festival venue. Our services extend to the Hospitality and Events sector, covering pubs, hotels, festivals and other outdoor events, with offerings like commodity collection and general waste.

2. Gather a team of waste pickers

As part of your business, you may already have a team ready for days of festival waste management. Teams of trained professionals are important for helping combat excessive festival waste, as they can help instruct volunteer litter pickers and are well-versed in which types of waste should go where.

Free entry to a festival is a great incentive to offer volunteers. Perhaps offer them free weekend passes in exchange for their litter picking efforts? Enforcing a rota will ensure any volunteers get their fair share of time away from festival waste management, where they can enjoy the acts and socialise.

3. Encourage guests to correctly dispose of festival waste

By setting up brightly-coloured, easy to spot waste stations throughout your venue, chances are some people will take notice. Label each bin to segregate waste effectively and give examples of the types of waste each bin should contain. This should help your business work towards effective festival waste management.

Of course, not everyone will be accustomed to the different waste streams, but it goes a long way in educating people about the correct disposal measures whilst having fun.

Strive for a zero waste event

Want to make your festival a zero waste event? Achieving zero waste at your event involves re-using and recycling absolutely every piece of waste produced. It can be a large part of a business' corporate social responsibility, and can also create cost savings when done well.

There are many different steps involved with planning to go zero waste, such as procurement and target setting. Just a simple understanding of the waste produced is a step in the right direction.

All this can come under a quality event waste management plan. Having one of these in place ahead of your festival will ensure your team are all on the same page, and that your business can work towards improving its environmental credibility achieving effective festival waste management.

Having years of experience managing large festivals such as the Reading & Leeds festival and Truckfest, Biffa works alongside you at a strategic level to reduce waste at source, increase recycling and optimise your services to deliver environmental targets while supporting your event and if you're lucky we may even send out a Wasteater...

If you'd like to find out more about how Biffa could support your business' next event, get in touch today.

About the author

Hamza Fazal

Hamza is part of Biffa's digital team, writing a diverse range of content on a number on industry topics. Hamza's favourite topic is Hazardous Waste, so look out for his handy tips coming your way!

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Top Tips For Effective Festival Waste Management

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But how many people make the effort to discard their waste properly? According to The Waste Place, "there is an estimated 10,000 tons plus a year of waste generated from festivals, tents, cups, food containers and other associated items" ( The Waste Place, February 2018).

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The Glastonbury camp sites... have you got everything you need. Picture: Anthony Brown / Alamy Stock Photo

In a bid to reduce the amount of waste left over after the festival, Glastonbury has asked visitors to bring the essentials only. Here's what you can and can't take onto the site.

For those lucky enough to have bagged themselves tickets for Glastonburythis year, we've compiled a helpful packing guide - and have itemised the things you shouldn't bring.
READ MORE: Here's what the weather forecast looks like for Glasto next week
What to pack for Glastonbury Festival 2022

1. A portable phone charger

While there's more to life than your mobile, you will inevitably need some charge to track down your mates. So, to avoid the hefty fees at charging points and standing around for over an hour to get a full bar, bring along a portable charger - there are many on the market now that can give your device a boost over the long, long weekend.

2. Toilet roll

After ages queueing for the loo, it's finally your turn. You enter a stinking portable latrine, only to find there's no toilet roll left in the holder. You then, desperately, rummage through your pockets for a pocket tissue, but things look bleak. You end up leaving the loo feeling uncomfortable and even dirtier than when you entered.

Also: avoid bringing disposable wipes as they can damage the environment!

3. A thermal blanket

There's nothing worse than being rained on alllllll day, then having no sleep because the temperature turns Baltic. To avoid getting chilly in the evenings, take a thick thermal blanket to help retain heat.

4. Earplugs

It's always a hard job trying to get some shut-eye at festivals, but having earplugs in helps block out some of the noise going on around your tent.

5. Some hard cash

Glasto assures us that 20 of the major bars will have credit or debit card payments accepted, but don't forget the joy and reliability of cold, hard cash. There are ATMs on site, but queuing for them can waste a valuable chunk of your weekend if they get busy - and some will also charge you for withdrawal.

What NOT to take to Glastonbury Festival 2022

1. Glass items

If you're caught trying to take glass into the festival, it will be taken off your person.

2. Non-biodegradable body glitter

As part of their new green initiative, Glastonbury organisers have asked that guests refrain from using non-biodegradable body glitter at the event.

3. Pets

While it might seem like an obvious one, pets and animals are not permitted to enter the festival site - so no sneaking your pooch in your handbag!

4. Sound systems and drums

I mean...you are there to watch live music, so leave your boombox at home.

5. Generators

The festival offers charging points to guests, but you cannot bring your own generator.

6. Unnecessary stuff

Don't take unnecessary items. Make sure you have all your camping stuff packed in advance: guy ropes, ground sheet, the lot. Take a mallet, that ground is HARD! And don't forget to pack your tickets, obvs.

The most important rule of all is: don't take anything you're not prepare to lose or damage in some way. There are property lock-ups, but this is a festival, remember, not a city break. As part of the "Leave No Trace" campaign, Glastonbury are also encouraging you to "only bring things which you can take home". So no dumping of camping gear at the end of the weekend.

7. Illegal substances

Everyone wants to have a lovely time, so think on. You're at Glastonbury, this is part of history. If you overdo it on beer or cheap wine and spend the weekend puking, what stories will you have to tell? Do you want your main memory of the festival to be a load of aggravation with other people, or the inside of the medical tent?

Drugs are ILLEGAL on the Glastonbury site and the usual laws apply, so don't get arrested before you've even pitched your tent - the police will be conducting searches!

Check the full list of prohibited items here. Please also note that any confiscated items will NOT be returned.

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What to pack for Glastonbury 2022 - and what NOT to bring

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In a bid to reduce the amount of waste left over after the festival, Glastonbury has asked visitors to bring the essentials only. Here's what you can and can't take onto the site. For those lucky enough to have bagged themselves tickets for Glastonbury this year, we've compiled a helpful packing guide - and have itemised the things you shouldn't bring.