The cleanup
The festival site and the surrounding areas and fields must be returned in the same condition as when we take over.
The cleanup extends from the earliest collection of recyclable equipment and environmentally hazardous waste on the closing day to the final hand-picking of cigarette butts and bottle caps.
The process goes like this:
Joint call
Throughout the festival, our service hosts and waste management volunteers have been encouraging festival participants to take their usable camping equipment home and sort their waste at the 24 recycling stations at the camping areas.
Clean departure
On the last days of the festival, Saturday and Sunday, extra spots for damaged camping equipment are set up at the sorting stations. There will be volunteer guides who can advise guests on how to sort their equipment. Also, there will be an opportunity to donate usable camping equipment for recycling at specially set up ReUseFull spots at the recycling stations and additional ReUseFull stations.
Screening of camps
On Sunday after the festival, volunteers on site encourage participants one last time to take things home, as well as to donate and sort what is left behind.
Tents are checked
When the participants have left the camping area on Sunday at 12:00, the festival’s camping hosts check all tents to make sure no people are inside them.
The cleanup begins
When all tents have been checked, all camping areas are reviewed, and hazardous waste, as well as recyclable camping equipment and other selected items, are collected in separate fractions. This includes camping chairs, air mattresses, sleeping bags, tents, and car batteries. The collected items are then set aside for recycling and reuse.
Recyclable camping equipment
We donate the recyclable camping equipment to charitable associations and partners. There are several criteria for who can receive used camping equipment. These are in line with Roskilde Festival’s general guidelines for cooperations and donations.
Broken camping equipment and hazardous waste
Broken items are collected in separate fractions to ensure that as many materials as possible can be recycled. The materials are set aside for Roskilde Festival’s renovators, who ensure that these are used for the purpose and can become new materials.
In the same process, hazardous waste such as broken car batteries or air mattresses (air mattresses contain PVC and therefore must not be sorted as combustible waste) is collected. Items classified as hazardous waste are also handled in separate fractions, and it is ensured that it is set aside and handled according to the guidelines for this type of waste.
To pile and incineration
When the cleanup effort on the camping areas is completed, renovation machines are sent in. First, all the larger waste is pushed together into large piles. Then a ‘beach cleaner’ is used which collects the smaller waste, after which it is grabbed up in containers and brought to re-sorting and subsequent incineration.
This work is completed within the first two weeks. After that, we are ready for the last round of cleaning.
Hand picking
When the rough work is done, the picking work begins. Everything must be picked up. The typical residual waste is cigarette butts, shards of glass, flattened cans, metal objects from cans, confetti, and bottle caps.
When the large waste is removed, the effort is prioritized on the most important areas. If another event is to be held afterwards in a certain area, the effort starts there.
At the same time, the area is also checked for any dug holes, which are filled again.