FESTIVAL-GOERS AT the Electric Picnic exceeded the organisers' expectations by recycling almost 30 per cent of their waste.
It was hoped that a quarter of all material would be recycled. As of yesterday, about 70 tonnes of waste was collected from the site in Stradbally, Co Laois, and 20 tonnes of it was recyclable. The figure last year was just seven tonnes.
Organisers made a concerted effort to encourage recycling this year and to avoid the mountains of rubbish which are a feature of so many music festivals.
Recycling bins were located in every campsite and in the main arena while fans were given bags for their rubbish as they arrived.
Damien Quinn, the Electric Picnic's recycling co-ordinator, said the campsites were notably cleaner than in previous years and the campaign had started to change perceptions.
"None of this works unless the festival-goer decides not to throw things on the ground. That's the first thing we are trying to get people to do," he said.
Mr Quinn said he believed that recycling half of all waste on site is achievable next year.
"There is still room for improvement. Walking though the site we have seen that people have just bagged things up and left them at the campsite. That's progress, because last year there was litter everywhere, but next year we want them to bring them to the collection points," he said.
The festival ended on Monday morning with the burning of the Tower of Truth, a plywood structure dedicated to the memory of suicide victims. The burning, which was watched by about 5,000 people, took place in torrential rain at the end of a festival which was almost completely dry throughout. The AA reported no major delays leaving the campsites yesterday. Gardaí breathalysed hundreds of motorists as they left.
Fans who left comments on the official Electric Picnic website and on Jim Carroll's blog at irishtimes.comwere generally praiseworthy of the three-day event, which was blessed by good weather and incident-free, other than a suspected carbon monoxide poisoning on a bus converted for use as accommodation.
One fan wrote on the Electric Picnic website: "First time at EP and hands-down the best festival I've been to yet, anywhere." Another wrote: "It was easily the best organised festival I have ever been to, period." However, there was near-universal criticism of the toilets which were described as "brutal" and a "disgrace".
Headline act The Sex Pistols also garnered mixed reviews. Lead singer John Lydon stopped the concert on two occasions when fans threw bottles on the stage.
"I thought the Sex Pistols were great when Lydon was mouthing off in between songs, but when they actually played they were awful," one contributor said.
