Europe's camping & caravanning sector is becoming increasingly focused on environmental issues. It is a situation that is dominating all aspects of the industry from transport and equipment to campsites, as well as attendance at popular music festivals where most participants camp overnight
Merely traveling between cities can be an issue if you are in a caravan or RV as many cities now impose charges, requiring emissions stickers to be obtained in advance. France is the leader in this respect. Among the cities where you can expect to have to obtain an emissions sticker (known as the Ecovignet Crit’Air) include Paris, Lille, Lyon, Strasbourg and Toulouse.
Festival goers are increasingly facing vocal criticism regarding the amount of waste – especially tents – that they leave behind. It has been estimated that around 250,000 tents are abandoned at UK music festivals annually, the equivalent to 900 tons of plastic waste sent to the landfill. Scaled up across the entire European continent, this means potentially hundreds of thousands of tents are left behind. To make matters worse, retailers have been promoting ‘one-use Festival tents’ with the implication that you just throw them away afterwards.
Teresa Moore, director of A Greener Festival says, “Reasons for tent waste are variously attributed to lazy punters who couldn’t care less, campers too hungover to repack popup tents in poor weather, the low cost of camping equipment, the implied disposability of the term ‘festival tent’, or peer influence. We’ve also seen the rise of the myth that claims all abandoned tents go to charity.”
Although many charities do benefit from the abandoned tents, they cannot cope with the sheer numbers involved. According to Teresa Moore, charities such as Festival Waste Reclamation and Distribution are only able to salvage one in ten tents at best, simply because many are in no fit state for reuse, and because they don’t have the storage capacity to hold large quantities of tents prior to redistribution.
The Association of Independent Festivals has started a campaign entitled ‘Take Your Tent Home, Say No to Single Use’ encouraging festival goers to take their tents and equipment home to use on future occasions or to donate it directly to a local charity or the homeless. AIF CEO Paul Reed said, “We call upon major retailers to stop marketing and selling tents and other camping items as essentially single-use, and profiting from disposable culture.”
Tent camping, or boondocking, in field [Photo/Denmark Farm]
The result is that the camping industry is beginning to undergo a change.
Music festivals are increasingly turning to the use of renting out pre-erected tents, or are calling for the creation of green camping areas where festival goers bring their own tents, but in return for better facilities agree to take tents home and leave a clean campsite. Typical of these projects are the ‘Love Your Tent’ and ‘Respect’ schemes at the Isle of Wight Festivals, Greenpeace’s Eco-Camp at the Download Festival.
Creating a more environmentally friendly atmosphere, whether at festivals or at campgrounds, is becoming equally important. For example, at the Green Man festival in the Brecon Beacons in Wales, all packaging and cutlery used on site now has to fully compostable, along with the use of reuseable cups. Plastic straws are banned; there are pedal powered phone charging stations and the stage is solar powered. Glastonbury has panned the sale of plastic water bottles, and all cutlery, plates and straws have to reusable. No disposable sachets are allowed. Compostable toilets allow waste to be turned into compost, or to provide energy.
The Paris based summer We Love Green festival runs on 100% renewable energy and recycles 70% of its waste. Over in Oslo, Norway, the Øya Festival has introduced solar power, and waste is reused through recycling or by being reutilized as heating.
On a wider basis, increasing numbers of campsites across Europe now have Ecolabel, or recognized labels/awards of environmental excellence. Others have adopted the Green Key quality mark. In order to achieve such environmental status, the site has to show evidence of reduced waste consumption, low water and energy consumption, promote environmental education and encourage the use of renewable resources.
Eco-friendly campsites are being heavily promoted, with many participants grouping together to gain even greater prominence. A typical example is the Greener Camping Club. This includes sites like the Cynefin Eco Camping in Carmarthenshire, Penrhyn Farm Camping Ceredigion, Finchingfield Camping Essex, and Bert’s Kitchen Campsite on the Llyn Pensinsula in North Wales. Many eco-friendly sites are small, and aim to provide a very friendly, relaxed camping experience. At Denmark Farm, near Lampeter in mid Wales, cars have to be left in the car park. Campers have to walk to the camping field, which is situated within a nature reserve enabling participants to enjoy the sight of wildlife such as red kites circling overhead, flower filled meadows and lots of woodland to explore.
It is not just small businesses that are focusing on environmental issues. One of the two largest caravan park groups in Britain, Haven, has reduced their carbon footprint through greater energy efficiency measures, while Allen Caravans have installed a solar powered compactor at one of their parks. Yet another group, Waterside, is increasing the number of solar panels on site, along with the introduction of LED lights and a high powered electric car charging point.
Compostable, or biodegradable tents are beginning to make an appearance. Take the plastic-free Reel Tent made from water resistant paperboard for example, which can be used several times before needing to be recycled. As it is flat packed it is easy to transport. The North Face Aleutian range with 30% recycled materials is also proving popular as is the Nordisk Super Lightweight Oscar sleeping bag made from 100% recycled materials.
More importantly, the canvas tent is making a come back. These tents possess the big advantage that they are truly long lasting and repairable. Some companies are upcycling vintage tents and supplying them for hire, usually on the basis that they are set up and ready for immediate use on a specific site. Many industry observers believe that this is a trend that is likely to increase significantly as a result of EU legislation known as the ‘Right to Repair Law’ which will require manufacturers to provide products that can be repaired. Earlier this year, a UK government spokesperson indicated, “We want manufacturers and producers to make products easier to reuse and repair, to make them last longer.”
Campers generally are being encouraged to opt for greener, more environmentally friendly products such as low energy LED lights or wind up torches and lights. Preference is being given to the use of bioplastics made from plant based materials or to seek out equipment made from metal, bamboo tableware, wax wraps for covering dishes and refillable gas bottles for stoves. US products such as the foldable All Season Solar Cooker and Go Sun’s portable tube shaped solar cooker are increasingly appearing among the equipment used by European campers and RVers.
Industry sources indicate that environmental concerns are also affecting the production of lightweight outdoor tables and chairs. Demand for economical and environmentally friendly raw materials such as recycled plastic, wood and aluminum within the European market has been growing steadily due to the need for manufacturers to produce lightweight, portable furniture for use by outdoor enthusiasts.
Louise Wood of the UK-based NCC (a trade organization leading and promoting the leisure vehicles, holiday & park homes sector) points out, “Many UK touring caravan manufacturers are employing technology to make vehicles lighter and longer-lasting, which reduces fuel consumption.” Furthermore, many suppliers are looking at making their products more eco-friendly.
Camping, Education, Environmental Issues, Features, International, Outdoors