My Summer Vacation - the Osheaga Music Festival

by Naomi Mihilewicz

Although I attended it, I did not know that the Osheaga music festival in Montreal had taken an 'eco-conscious approach.' One of the first bands we went to see was on the 'Green Stage.' Each of the four stages had a name, so I didn't catch on that 'green' meant 'eco-conscious' until I saw the solar panels on the sound booth's roof. Upon further research, I found out that the festival had tried to achieve several 'green' goals.

It turns out that the stage was powered by a mix of solar and wind power with battery storage. To achieve the rock-star show look with less energy, an LED light system was used behind the performers. You would never guess that the performances were being powered any differently than the conventional way. We were lucky enough to have two full days of sunshine during the festival, which no doubt helped the solar panels provide for the stage -- I wonder if they could have done it if it had been raining?

Another plus was the temporary water fountains for patrons. It was nice to know that plastic water bottles could be avoided if you so chose. Vendors likely sold a few less bottles of water for it, but I don't feel too badly for them as they had them priced at $4.00 each. My husband and I wisely brought our own reusable water bottle and filled it at the station. It would have been nice to have more than one location and more than 20 fountains for 25,000 people each day (it was pushing 30 degrees both days). A bottle of pop was about $4.75. (Can you say "captive audience"?)

Where it seemed like the festival fell down on its environmental commitment was with solid waste. Litter was everywhere from the start to the end of the festival. According to their website, the festival had committed to using recyclable and biodegradable food serving materials on the site. They partnered with RCI Environment to manage the resulting waste and recycling.

While there were recycling bins and garbage cans peppered throughout the park, the waste was pretty evident. As a patron, the opportunities for recycling were few and inadequate. The bins seemed like permanent structures that are part of the park where the festival is held and definitely NOT meant to service 25,000 people. Many vendors sold items in non-recyclable or compostable containers.

While it is commendable that they tried to use environmentally-friendly products, it was a classic case of poor planning and not enough communication. Vendors did not appear to have been brought on board as full stakeholders in the environmental mission. Organizers also did not appear to have a grasp on how much stuff they would need to collect.

Organizers did make a stab at sustainable transportation to the event. Parking was limited, but bicycle parking and public transportation were included in the ticket price. The public transit worked well to get to the site, since people dribbled in throughout the day. The trouble came at the end of the event when thousands of people were all trying to get home at the same time!

(Source: August 2010 WasteWatch)

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