Roskilde Festival ends with lingering waste despite green push

Cleanup crews are tackling mountains of abandoned tents, air mattresses, and cans at Roskilde Festival’s camping grounds, despite new rules banning single-use pavilions and glass bottles, reports DR.

Though the eight-day festival introduced stricter environmental guidelines this year, discarded plastic, flattened mattresses, and broken tents still litter the site. Organizers closed the camping area at noon on Sunday, first checking for stragglers before deploying heavy machinery.

Kim Kristensen, division chief for urban planning and logistics at Roskilde Festival, said attendees largely complied with the new restrictions. Few brought prohibited single-use pavilions or glass bottles, a change aimed at cutting plastic waste and the event’s carbon footprint.

“We can see our participants have embraced our agenda to reduce single-use pavilions. People have followed the instructions,” Kristensen said. He added that while full waste statistics are pending, the early signs show progress toward more sustainable choices.

“We need to make more sustainable decisions where we can. The key is to document progress and move in the right direction,” he said.