Driving Sustainability at CarFest

James, one of our younger volunteers visited Carfest this year, and wanted to share the efforts he saw to make the festival as sustainable as it could be (given the very nature of the event championing cars!)

"This year was my first time visiting Carfest. Living just down the road meant I could walk and see the festival from a personal perspective. It was a lovely experience to hear all the live music and see the wide variety of cars on show. Obviously by attracting 30,000+ people to a car related event, sustainability is going to be a tough task, but doing some research for this blog showed that within recent years Carfest has stepped firmly onto the road of sustainability by introducing new ways to cut carbon emissions and waste.

This summer the festival’s entire fleet of delivery vans and buggies were powered by a plant-based biofuel made from agricultural waste. That single switch was expected to save over ten tons of CO₂ which is the equivalent of planting around 60 trees. Also, Carfest offered electric vehicle charging for campers for the first time and supplied 2000 litres of fuel for the event cars, through the help of BP Pulse which was a key sponsor.  If you were driving an electric vehicle to the festival, you got priority parking, which was close to the entrance.  This was a big bonus considering most cars were non EV inside the large car parks.

Waste management is another area where Carfest is making progress. Clear recycling packs for campers, the 10p for every returned cup scheme, and partnerships with waste specialists have already helped divert large amounts of rubbish from landfill. At Carfest more than 2000 kilograms of food waste was collected and turned into energy and fertilizer, whilst around 60 kilograms of harmful waste like gas canisters and aerosols were handled safely. Traders were also encouraged to separate plastics and cardboard to support higher recycling rates.  As a festival-goer I noticed there were bins everywhere, and they were regularly emptied.  However, you had to get close to see exactly what you could put in which bin since they were all the same colour.  The 10p cup return scheme was also interesting, as there were loads of people building towers of cups as they collected them.  This provided a cheap incentive whilst improving recycling for the festival.

However, there is always more that can be done to help. Festivals everywhere struggle with single use items and Carfest could reduce its footprint even further by expanding sustainable travel options such as ride sharing or cycle routes which would reduce the impact of the thousands of cars arriving on site.

It was a great weekend overall, not only for the food and music, but to see how Carfest strives to improve when reducing waste whilst maintaining the wonderful experience for the people who visit."

As well as festival organisers making changes to the way their event is run, each of us can make more sustainable choices when we visit big events.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Ditch the single-use stuff – Bring a water bottle, cup, and maybe even some funky cutlery. Way cooler than piling up plastic waste.

2. Squad travel – Carpool, bus, or train it. More mates in one ride = cheaper, greener, and way more fun.

3. Eat smart – Go for stalls that do veggie or local food. It’s tasty, good for the planet, and you can feel smug about your choices.

4. No trace, no stress – Don’t be that person who leaves a tent behind. Take your rubbish home and keep the vibes clean.

5. Shop with brain cells – If you’re buying merch, grab something eco or recycled. Or just thrift your festival ‘fit and flex it harder than fast fashion.