QMF declares War on Waste success

THE Queenscliff Music Festival (QMF) has declared their War on Waste for the 2018 event a
massive success, with only 32 wheelie bins of waste going to landfill.

The team of staff and QMF volunteers diverted 90.07 per cent of waste from over 20,000 patrons during the past year’s three-day festival running across November 23-25.

The festival team developed a plan based around separating, re-using and repurposing all waste from the event by identifying what waste was generated, where it came from, and what they could do with it.

They have now recycled all plastics collected into picnic tables and benches that will be used at
future events.

QMF partnered with local environmental groups Bellarine Catchment Network, My Maintenance Crew and B. Alternative to deliver their waste management plans.

Organisers of QMF have now been approached by others festivals and events who are keen to adopt the model and reduce their impact on the environment too.

From the 90.07 per cent waste diverted: 42 per cent were organics (this will all be turned into compost); 7 per cent was glass (turned into new bottles);13 per cent cardboard (turned into new
boxes and packaging); 23 per cent aluminium cans (turned into new cans) and 5 per cent was comingled recyclables.

Re-usable and fully compostable coffee cups (including lids) removed more than 2,500 single-use plastic coated cups from landfill.

To keep the momentum going, QMF are also presenting at an environmental/sustainability conference in May as a case study on how events can be sustainable, with ABC TV’s War on Waste crusader Craig Reucassel as the keynote speaker