Plastic waste from Boardmasters in Cornwall to be turned into fixtures and furniture

MYGroup says the items made will used at next year's festival

Author: Megan Price and Emma HartPublished 15th Aug 2022
Last updated 15th Aug 2022

Plastic waste left over at Cornwall's Boardmasters is going to transformed into green festival furniture as part of a new partnership.

Thousands of festival-goers descended on Newquay and Watergate Bay area this weekend. to watch the likes of George Ezra and Bastille.

As the event empties out, MyGroup is collecting and sorting plastic waste that will be turned into fixtures and furniture for next year's festival.

Lynsey Wollaston, Managing Director, Boardmasters Festival, said: "MyGroup’s mission resonates with our own sustainability ethos at Boardmasters, as we are continually searching for new and creative ways to reduce our environmental impact.

"In addition to our daily beach cleans and ban on single-use plastics, a certain level of non-recyclable waste remains a challenge, and with MyGroup’s partnership we have an impactful solution.

"Thanks to MyGroup, our sustainability pledge will take a step further, ensuring more of those traditionally “non-recyclable” plastics are cleverly re-purposed, finding a new life at the Boardmasters Festival in the future. This innovative initiative is progress we are very proud to support this summer and for the future".

The group attended the festival to collect plastic waste disposed of across the Boardmasters sites in palette boxes made by them.

The waste will now be sorted and transported before being transformed into picnic benches and signage for the festival in 2023.

Fixtures made for the festival will be made with 'Stormboard', a material similar in texture to plywood, made solely from the processing of plastic waste.

Steven Carrie, Director of MyGroup said: "Boardmasters’ journey to put on an ever-greener event each year makes it a natural fit for our own “zero landfill” mission and operations, so we’re delighted to kick off this exciting partnership".

After 20 years of the partnership between Surfers against Sewage and Boardmasters, Steven hopes continuing on their work will help to make Cornwall's music and surf festivals one of the leading sustainable events of its kind across the country.

He continued: "Our on-site activities and ReFactory transformation will help the event take an even greater step forward with its commitment to sustainability, and we hope to continue working together in the years to come".

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