Festival Essentials: Single-use Cardboard Tents

Festival Essentials: Single-use Cardboard Tents

Come rain or shine, the festival season is in full swing. At each event, hundreds or thousands of tents are erected to provide temporary accommodation over the weekend. However, many are never packed up and reused. So, let’s look at an alternative option, sustainable, single-use cardboard tents.

Musicians Cutting the Carbon Footprint of Touring

Glastonbury headliners, Coldplay, are one band dedicated to minimising the carbon footprint of performing. One way this is achieved is by using green technologies, such as LED stage lighting and kinetic dancefloors that generate energy. Equally, measures such as free water refill stations aim to significantly reduce plastic packaging waste.

Meanwhile, Massive Attack is performing a gig in August powered by 100% renewable energy and has partnered with a local rail company to promote public transport links to the venue. In addition, they are conscious of sourcing sustainable materials for merchandise.

However, having watched these fantastic performers, many of their fans will abandon their accommodation, leaving others to clean up their mess. It’s estimated that around 250,000 tents are left behind at UK festivals every year. What’s more, even when tents are taken home, the majority are never used again. This represents a shocking waste of resources.

Single-use Tents for Festival Camping

If you just want a single-use tent for one weekend of festival camping, picking a cheap pop-up might seem like a great idea. However, the polyester sheets and carbon fibre poles are not easy to recycle. Every summer, this creates a huge waste management problem for event organisers. What’s more, the environmental impact is significant, yet unnecessary.

So, what is the alternative?

Temporary tents made of water-resistant cardboard! Check out these two options from EnviroTent and KarTent.

Pre-cut sheets of thick, durable and rain-repelling corrugated cardboard are supplied flat pack to festival venues. They are easy to slot together and provide comfortable accommodation for two people. Individuals can purchase a pre-pitched tent, which will be ready and waiting for their arrival. Alternatively, festival organisers can purchase a field full of cardboard tents for visitors to hire.

Sturdy corrugated cardboard tents can be made using a high percentage of recycled fibres and are 100% recyclable after use. What’s more, cardboard is naturally insulating, which makes for warmer and quieter sleeping arrangements. No more rolling over into damp tent fabric. And, no waking as the sun rises, as the solid structure keeps the space dark.

Recycling Cardboard Tents at the End of a Festival

When the event ends, the tents can be left in situ. Lightweight to move, easy to disassemble and with no other materials to separate, the cardboard tents are straightforward to recycle. One company, EnviroTent will even arrange to come and collect the tents from a festival site. The cardboard is then recycled and used for cardboard packaging.

Cardboard Bins for Events

We’ve not yet been asked to manufacture cardboard tents for events. However, we have supplied cardboard bins as a low-cost, temporary solution to encourage event visitors to separate waste. Printed cardboard lids can help everyone to select the right bin for their waste. And, at the end of the event, the bins can be added to the recyclable waste. Could this provide a sustainable solution for your community fundraiser, campsite or festival?

Bins and tents are simply adaptions of big cardboard cartons. So, if you have an idea for a commercial corrugated cardboard creation, we’d love to hear from you. Our knowledgeable team are masters of cardboard engineering and can advise on solutions that help bring your vision to life. So, give us a call 01296 436888 or email enquiries@abcbox.co.uk.