Nightjar to go plastic-free this year

ORGANISERS of the Nightjar Festival in Torquay and Geelong have introduced a festival-wide ban on plastics this year to help them achieve their zerowaste target.

The series of markets – which begin tonight (Thursday, January 3) in Torquay – will be a step closer to waste-free status this year with the introduction of a ban on all plastics, including biodegradable plastic.

For the past three years, festival organisers have been working with musicians, stallholders and event sponsors to minimise the environmental impacts of the festival, which attracts more than 60,000 people every summer.

Last year, the festival engaged the environmental solutions business B-Alternative, which help drive a 65 per cent cut to the amount of waste sent to landfill.

The compulsory use of compostable food packaging last year was particularly successful, with 70 percent of waste composted.

Festival organisers are now aiming to compost 100 per cent of the festival’s waste.

While the compost from last year’s festival waste was used by farmers, festival founder Lyndelle Flintoff said the ultimate aim was to close the loop by bringing the compost back and selling it through the night market.

Banning plastic from the festival would also have a significant impact, according to festival waste data collected in 2017 that revealed plastic was a major waste item.

The 47 food stallholders and more than 100 arts and craft stallholders at the 2019 festival have agreed to remove plastics from their sites and find alternatives. Stallholders are also expected to reduce the plastic packaging coming onto the site by working with their manufacturers to come up with more sustainable packaging solutions.

To assist stallholders in the short term, a soft plastics recycling program will be introduced this year.

Meanwhile, councillors at the City of Greater Geelong have resolved to develop a Plastic Wise program to reduce single use plastics at the city’s events and offices.