CATEGORY: Sustainability

To help you make the right environmental choices, we have provided a recycling point in each campsite.

These recycling points have 5 waste streams: Glass, Food, Cardboard, Cans & Bottles, and Absolutely Everything Else. Additionally, refuse bags are provided at these points to help you sort the waste in your own campsite set up and keep your camp clean.

By availing of the recycling points and sorting your waste, you could be in for a chance to win great prizes such as merch bundles, side of stage experiences and tickets to Electric Picnic 2028!

In 2026 over 1.1 million cans and bottles were collected on site – that is almost 20 tonnes of material rescued from our regular waste streams.

At this year’s Electric Picnic festival, Re-turn will be operating the National Deposit Return Scheme.

Attendees can choose to donate their drinks container deposits to  charity or return their plastic bottles and cans to the bars/ cup return points within the Arena. 🥤🥫

Here’s how it works:

Within the Arena, there will be several Cup Return points. A cup returned to a cup return point can be redeemed for 15c, with a maximum earning of €40 per day. In addition, there will also be Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) located in the arena. These RVMs will issue vouchers that can be redeemed at the Reverse Vending Machine point within the arena.

Separately, there will be designated Re-turn donation bins placed throughout the festival site for cans & bottles. Festival attendees can donate their empty plastic bottles and cans to support the Return for Children charity initiative. This initiative benefits six national children’s charities, including Barnardos Ireland, Barretstown, Childline by ISPCC, Jack & Jill, LauraLynn Children’s Hospice, and Make-A-Wish Ireland.

1. Remember not to crush or squash your containers
2. Set up a designated Re-turn area at your campsite to keep plastic bottles and cans separate from other rubbish.
3. Shake out empty containers to remove any remaining liquids.
4. You can leave caps on plastic bottles; they can be recycled with or without caps.
5. Don’t discard containers in other bins; recycle them to reduce waste and conserve resources.

As set out in our Green Nation Sustainability Charter, we recognise our responsibility to preserve the live music experience for generations to come and have a tremendous opportunity to inspire climate action at Electric Picnic.

We acknowledge the impact that the festival has on the environment, are committed both to telling the truth about the scale of the climate and ecological emergency, and to taking urgent action. Electric Picnic’s environmental impact comes primarily from the transport taken to the festival the energy required to power it, alongside the waste generated, water used, food and drink consumed, and the overall effect of the festival on the flora and fauna of the site. Each of these impact areas have been assessed in the context of their impact on, and the contribution to reaching the relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Our commitment towards reducing Electric Picnic’s environmental impact has previously been assessed by Julie’s Bicycle, a not-for-profit organisation working on sustainability within the creative industries, as part of their Creative Green certification. During their last reporting year, 2019, we achieved an incredible 5/ 5 stars, thank you to everyone who helped us achieve it. Although this programme has come to an end, we haven’t stopped striving to do better!

Disposable vapes are made of mixed materials, including embedded lithium-ion batteries, which makes them difficult to recycle, creates unique fire risks at recycling plants, and can harm the environment if not disposed of correctly. Electric Picnic has decided to add Single Use Disposable Vapes to the list of prohibited items, in order to protect the land the festival site is on and for the safety of our waste contractors

Any single-use vapes found will be confiscated and not returned to customers.

Please help us to make a change when it comes to tent waste, say no to single-use & reuse your tent!

Buy a durable tent that you can use again each year, it will save you money in the long run.

It is expected that you take your tent, and all other belongings home with you when leaving the festival.

If you have any broken tents, chairs, gazebos and empty batteries, please place them in the not recycling section of the recycling stations.

If you need help finding your nearest recycling point, please ask a member of staff. If you wish to donate your tent, pack it up and take it to one of our donation points at the campsite AirHubs. If you leave it in the field, it will end up being incinerated

WE HAVE LOTS OF POPULAR OPTIONS IN PLACE TO MAKE IT EASY FOR YOU TO REDUCE YOUR WASTE FOOTPRINT:
Consider pre-pitched options or our dedicated Eco Campsite:
Harvest Moon, Under the Stars, Moonlight Meadows, Cosmic Avenue and Faiche Tipi

Say no to single-use & reuse your tent! Buy a durable tent that you can use again each year, it will save you money in the long run.

Pack light, you really don’t need to bring the kitchen sink, remember that everything you bring, you need to take home again. You will be thankful on Monday as it will only take you 5 minutes to pack up the place you’ve called home for the past few days.

Some Packing essentials include:

• Entry Ticket & ID
• Medication, if required. Please keep it in its original container.
• Clothing for all weather and comfortable footwear
• Camping equipment including a sleeping bag and ground mat
• An empty reusable bottle of any size
• Refuse sacks for rubbish, recycling and any wet/dirty clothing.
• Power bank to charge your devices

To help reduce carbon emissions and air pollution at Electric Picnic we will be using a 100% Hyodrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) in place of diesel in our generators, made from waste vegetable oil. This fuel has been show to emit 90% less C02 than conventional diesel.

The emissions from travelling to and from the festival contribute the greatest share of the event’s total generated emissions – more than waste, food and beverage or energy consumption. You could save money, make friends and go green by travelling by public bus or train, one of our coach partners, bike, or arranging to share a lift.

We are working hard to eliminate single use plastics at Electric Picnic. Here are some of the steps we’ve been taking, please work with us and dispose
of the plastic on site responsibly:

We have banned the use of single use plastic cutlery and non-compostable serve ware since 2015.

You are strongly encouraged to bring a refillable bottle with you to refill at the arena and campsite drinking water stations.

All of our cups and bottles are made from recycled plastic (rPET), which supports the Irish recycling industry.

Please minimise the plastic you bring and we ask that you don’t bring single use plastic into the arena.

We operate very strict packaging protocols and all food packaging on our site MUST be compostable. Every single one of our traders use fully compostable serve ware. Plastic and non-biodegradable straws are also prohibited.

All traders are required to use the following Fairtrade products: tea, sugar, coffee, bananas & chocolate. We also ask that, wherever possible, traders use locally sourced, free-range and organic produce.

All food waste will be disposed of separately into specific bins for traders.

Standard glitter is made from etched aluminium bonded to polyethylene terephthalate – a form of microplastic that can find its way into the oceans and pose a danger to people and animals. Bioglitter is only 92% plastic free so we ask everyone to use alternatives such as paints, reusable gems, flower petals, edible glitter.

Refillable non-glass bottles of any size may be brought into the site, including plastic sports bottles.

Free drinking water points are located throughout the campsites and arena, which can be found next to the toilet blocks.

Please ensure you have read and agree to our Terms and Conditions for the event. Your possession of a ticket constitutes your acceptance of these T&Cs.

Terms & Conditions of Entry

General Campervan Terms & Conditions

Family Campervan Terms & Conditions

Eviction Policy

Swimming Terms & Conditions

Electric Keys Competition

Partner Survey Terms & Conditions

Post Event Artist Survey Terms and Conditions