Green Music

Party with the planet

We partnered with Green Music Australia, an organisation committed to improving the environmental performance of the music industry. The partnership was to raise awareness of the plastic bans and encourage music and hospitality venues to put simple changes in place that can lead to environmental and financial benefits.

As part of the partnership, Green Music created three Party with the Planet alliance events that focused on key sustainability issues for the sector. The alliance is made up of festival organisers and service providers that support each other to share knowledge, skills and networks to make changes in their own businesses. This is done through peer to peer and expert presentations showcasing successful activities and initiatives. In 2023, EPA representatives presented on the new single-use plastic bans as well as cutting down on waste and noise pollution.

Part of the partnership also included elevating Green Music’s #BYOBottle campaign, encouraging artists, venues and fans to bring their own reusable water bottles to events and providing accessible refill stations on site. Activations at concerts in 2022 including tours by Billie Eilish, Tame Impala and Jack Johnson helped shift the attitude of fans away from single-use bottles and cups. This allowed the EPA to support a campaign focused on reusables in new spaces and ways. These concerts alone spread a reusables message to more than 2,000 people.

Messaging focused on bringing reusables and being mindful of your waste were again spread at music festivals across NSW, including Lost Paradise. Signs were placed throughout the site encouraging people to dispose of waste correctly and take their camping equipment home. B-Alternative ran a Repair Cafe, helping fans to fix broken equipment instead of dumping it into landfill. A reusable cup initiative also encouraged correct recycling by offering fans one dollar off their next drink when they returned their drink container. The result saw almost 8,000 kg of organic waste avoid landfill, a massive achievement for one festival. The idea was that by changing behaviours in an enclosed community such as a music festival, these behaviours would be maintained outside in everyday life.

Results from a recent survey of festivalgoers found signage and communications made a noticeable impact:

• 85% noticed the messaging “Leave No Trace”
• 90% used the recycling and waste bins correctly
• 82% used a reusable water bottle
• 54% noticed on-site signage