South Coast Festivals To Ban Plastic Straws

19 April 2018, 09:22

More than 60 UK music festivals - including Southampton's Common People and Victorious in Portsmouth - have promised to ban plastic straws this year.

The group of independent festivals have also committed to eliminate all single-use plastic by 2021. Others include Boomtown Fair near Winchester and Bestival in Dorset.

Organised by the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), the campaign will see festival websites "wrapped in plastic" for 24 hours to mark Earth Day this Sunday.

Sites will also share key facts and messages about the impact of everyday plastic use as the AIF teams up with campaign partner RAW Foundation - a sustainable development charity - while metal water bottles will also be on sale.

Bestival and AIF co-founder Rob Da Bank said the festival group were "leading the global charge against unnecessary plastic at all our festivals".

He added: "Unless you've been living on the moon, you'll know the plastic problem is not going away. I'm very proud that the organisation we started with five members 10 years ago now boasts over 60 who have all signed up to eradicate single use plastic in the next couple of years."

Earlier this year Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis claimed the event were working on banning plastic bottles from next year.

Melinda Watson, founder of RAW, said "urgent action" was needed across industries, adding: "Recycling is important, but it is far from the solution: "Many of our impacts are embodied in the materials we use. We will build on work we have done with Glastonbury and Shambala, working with the festival industry to radically change our relationship to our plastic stuff."