Glastonbury 2019 clean up: Major operation under way as tens of thousands of revellers head home from festival

Hundreds of volunteers and workers have begun the clean-up operation at Glastonbury Festival, as tens of thousands of people leave the site after the five-day festival.

Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, has been home to a population of 200,000 over the past five days, with musical highlights including Stormzy, The Killers, Billie Eilish and Kylie Minogue.

Climate change and the environment was the theme of this year’s five-day event, which saw a ban on selling single-use plastic bottles across the site.

For the first time, water was provided in cans or at refill sites, with festival-goers complaining of long queues as they battled the weekend’s heat, which peaked at 28C.

Glastonbury 2019 Clean up - In pictures

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The highest temperature ever recorded at the music festival was 31.2C in 2017.

Those attending were also urged to bring sturdy tents and return home with them, instead of dumping them at the end of the event.

But it could still be six weeks before the event site is returned back into a functioning dairy farm, a process which cost £785,000 in 2017.

Pictures from the clean-up operation today show overflowing bins and piles of rubbish, which include plastic bottles.

Although the sale of plastic bottles was banned, revellers were allowed to bring them onto the site.

In an interview with the Glastonbury Free Press on Sunday, Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis said: "We've made so many positive strides with our green campaigns this year.

Rubbish left behind at the Glastonbury Festival
PA

"It's incredible to think that there will be one million fewer plastic bottles for the planet to deal with because we've stopped selling them.

"The most eye opening part of the weekend for me was not seeing any plastic bottles in the bins or on the ground.

"I think people are really starting to understand how important it is to treat the land with respect, and to stop living a disposable lifestyle."

The Love the Farm, Leave no Trace pledge, which launched in 2016, is believed to have resulted in an 81% reduction in tents left at Glastonbury in 2017.

During the festival, David Attenborough appeared on the Pyramid stage, where he praised the festival for its plastic-free drive.

According to figures from Glastonbury, there were more than one million plastic drinks bottles sold at the festival in 2017, and zero sold in 2019.

Volunteers clear up the debris from this year's festival which had 'climate change and the environment' as its theme.
PA

This year, there were 850 water points across the 900-acre site for people to refill their reusable bottles, with 37 WaterAid kiosks.

In the early hours of Monday morning, a team of 1,300 recycling volunteers began their clear-up operation.

They used bin bags made from recycled plastic – which will later be recycled again – to hand sort rubbish left on the ground and in each of the 15,000 bins.

Glastonbury 2019 - In pictures

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In 2017, more than 60 tonnes of paper and card, 32 tonnes of glasses, 45 tonnes of cans, and 40 tonnes of plastic bottles were recycled.

That year, 132 tonnes of food waste were turned into compost, while 4,500 litres of cooking oil was made into biofuel.

The festival hopes its "leave no trace" measures will encourage festival-goers to live more sustainably when they return home.

Pat Vendetti, campaign director for Greenpeace, said: "We are facing a crisis with both the climate and biodiversity.

"We want to inspire people to take action when they get back home."

Around 40% of those attending Glastonbury come by public transport.

The environment was also in mind during performances - with biodegradable confetti being showered over the crowds in sets by those including Years And Years and Kylie.

Next year, Glastonbury Festival will celebrate its 50th anniversary.

"We won't be slowing down for very long," Emily Eavis said. "We have already started working on next year's 50th anniversary. Trust me when I say we are planning a huge celebration."

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