Planning for an eco-friendly festival experience begins at home. To make it easier than ever to reduce your impact onsite, the Bass Coast Green Team has compiled 6 simple tips to stay sustainable this year. 

1) The Eco Hub is here to help.

The Eco Hub is located between Cantina and Main Stage and is open from 8am-8pm each day of the festival. Here, Green Team Volunteers are ready to answer your questions and guide you on where your waste should go. You can drop your sorted waste at the Eco Hub for the three major waste streams (recycling, returnables and landfill) as well as soft plastics, batteries, cigarette butts and untreated wood. 

There's also a handy sink for washing your reusable dishes - just remember to bring soap. 

2) Know your waste streams.

Are you eager to dispose of your waste correctly, but confused about what goes where? Below is an overview of the three main waste streams collected at the campsites (in the large bins) and on the festival grounds (in the barrels), and what goes in each one:

• Returnables: All beverage containers and their lids, including: cans, plastic bottles and Tetrapaks
• Recyclables: Hard plastics #1-7 (except beverage containers), tin cans, and unsoiled paper and cardboard
• Landfill: Chip bags and candy wrappers, styrofoam, and any un-cleanable recyclables or organic material

You can find a complete list of what’s accepted in each stream and where the waste goes on the Leave No Trace section of our website.

Remember to leave glass at home. Glass is at the top of our banned items list as it’s a hazardous material and will be confiscated at the gate. Before you leave for Bass Coast, do a quick double-check to make sure there's no glass in your belongings including bottles, jars, and mirrors. 

3) Recycle your butts.

We’ve teamed up with BrainGarden to tackle cigarette butt waste. BrainGarden’s outreach team will be distributing Pocket Ashtrays to attendees to help you collect your butts and you can empty these into the “Butt Bin” at the Eco Hub or into any of the cigarette cans at the waste barrel stations throughout the festival grounds.

The cigarette waste will be recycled and this process generates donations to the BrainGarden's Wildfire Prevention and education campaign.

4) Bring your reusables.

Bring your reusable plates, cups, and cutlery to use at the food vendors and bring your reusable bottles to fill up at the water stations. All of our vendors and bars are equipped to allow the use of reusables and we have a wash station set up at the Eco Hub for you to clean them afterward.

5) Respect the river.

The Coldwater River that runs through the Bass Coast site is a natural salmon spawning site that is incredibly sensitive to human intervention. Please don’t use any soap or wear any sunblock into the water, even biodegradable ones, as they are harmful to the natural environment. Use the showers at Campground B if you need to wash, and make sure to dispose of your dishwater a minimum of 100 metres away from the river's edge, so that chemicals don’t leach in.

Please also respect the river's natural architecture and refrain from building rock beds or sculptures - these will disrupt fish and have to be dismantled by our volunteers. 

6)  Keep your campsite clean.

Help keep your camp waste organized by bringing a black bag for garbage and a clear bag for recycling and returnables. You can dispose of your waste at the campsite depots or at the Eco Hub. Make sure to check for any MOOP (matter out of place) when you pack up and leave your campsite as sparkling clean as you found it.

Check out our Sustainability Education Series for more information on how to reduce your impact and contribute to Bass Coast’s respectful and sustainable stewardship of the land, which is the shared traditional territories of the Nłeʔkepmx and Sylix.