If it can’t be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned or removed from production.
– Pete Seeger
Every bit of plastic ever created still exists, and we humans move more materials around the globe than natural processes. These stunning facts come from a broken relationship with our living planet and from economic models based on limitless growth.
We’ve become used to throwing things away. In nature, there’s no such place as ‘away’, as everything is food for something else. Check out The Story of Stuff for a fast-paced, fact- filled look at the underside of our wasteful production and consumption patterns.
Instead of dealing with the mess, let’s avoid
it in the first place by buying second-hand, repairing what we can, and, if those things aren’t possible, purchasing from ethical companies that use minimal packaging. And remember, for you as a musician, it’s not just the direct impacts you’re having, you’re also sending a message to all those fans watching you on stage and online. So what you do really matters.
In general, following the waste hierarchy is the best way to align with the needs of our living planet:
Legendary musician and environmentalist Jack Johnson joined forces with Green Music Australia for his 2017 tour.
Working closely with seven live music venues, Jack’s team successfully eliminated single-use plastic water bottles, beer cups and straws. As a GMA ambassador, Jack promoted BYOBottle encouraging fans to bring their own reusable water bottles and WE-Refill was contracted to provide water refill stations for fans.
A Farm to Stage catering program encouraged venues to source from local farms, and the tour partnered with OZ Harvest and Kiwi Harvest for food drives and excess food donation. At each event, a ‘Village Green’ was set up to showcase 5-10 local environmental non-profits and drive fan engagement. As part of Jack’s All At Once social action community partnerships were established with local nonprofits to promote beach clean-ups and ticket giveaways in association with each show.
This example shows what’s possible with commitment and support, with artists, venues, management and fans working together. For more detail on this case study, see Jackʻs 2017-18 Tour Impact Report.
Impact highlights from Jack's world tour included:
1. Over 36,000 single-use plastic bottles were eliminated by providing free filtered drinking water at water refill stations.
2. More than 36,300 litres of recyclables and over 5186 litres of compostable food waste were collected at venues across the tour.
3. Over 100,000 Environmental Actions were taken by fans, including Capture Your Commitment pledges.
4. 226 local farms were supported by a Farm-to-Stage catering program.
5. Nearly 70,000 reusable stainless steel pint cups were sold or given to fans to reduce single use plastic waste and incentivise green action, eliminating the need for 200,000 plastic cups.
6. The tour partnered with local bike organisations to host Bike Valets at 22 concerts with over 1100 cyclists riding to the shows.
7. Over 6.8 tonnes of carbon were offset through support of clean energy initiatives.
8. Over $1.9 million was directed to 315 non-profit partners.
Speak with us if you’d like support to green your tour.
I’m proud to support the BYOBottle campaign and encourage us all to bring reusable bottles to my gigs. Music is thirsty work, let’s do what we can to do it sustainably!
- Kasey Chambers
It’s striking to consider that a plastic water bottle needs three litres of water to be created and a quarter of a bottle of crude oil. Most water bottles are not recycled after use, so billions enter landfill sites and oceans every year. Every item we buy, from musical equipment, to posters, packaging, cables and leads, has a similar story. The more we consume, the more of our living systems are exploited and the more waste is produced. Recycling has been one ‘solution’, but it’s less effective than we like to imagine. Here are some ideas to help you find a better relationship with the stuff in your life:
Consider pre-loved music gear before buying new. See second-hand places like Found Sound or the Swop Shop who sell in person (Melbourne) and online, or search for second-hand music equipment shops in your town. Online second-hand websites like Gumtree, eBay and others can be a good source, too.
Join the movement by making a BYOBottle Artist Commitment. It’s a great way to help reduce plastic waste in the music industry and engage your team, your fans, and the venues, clubs and festivals you play at. Our staff picks for reusable water bottles are Ocean Bottle, Frank Green and EarthBottles.
Promote reusable water bottles and water refill stations at music events by using our Green Hospitality Rider when touring. Recommend venues look into brands like Elkay, and Moda; festivals and events can enquire about services from Bettercup, Turn Systems, and One Green Cup; and councils can find permanent outdoor refill stations from providers like Meet PAT and Choose Tap. See more great BYOBottle resources including the Plastic Pollution Coalition’ plastic-free touring guide, and the RAW Foundation’s guide to plastic-free events.
If you get catering, request real plates, glasses and utensils backstage or bring your own. Think metal lunch boxes and reusable cutlery, straws, cups and bowls. We love products by Seed and Sprout, Kappi and Ever Eco. You’ve got the power on your rider to reduce disposable plastics – all you have to do is ask. Use our downloadable hospitality rider as a basis for communicating with venues.
You can get biodegradable glitter, package-free makeup and beauty products, bamboo toothbrushes and reusable menstrual cups, underwear and pads (like options 1, 2 and 3). See even more detailed zero-waste guides at awesome websites like Trash Is For Tossers.
Did you know that around 80% of the waste at festivals comes from the audience campsite? Take (and promote) our pledge to Party With The Planet, not against it. We've been trashing our festivals for far too long, but we can clean things up, fast. Encourage your fans to use our free planning tool Camping Buddy to pack green at their next festival. And make use of some of the brilliant green festival kit that’s available including Ekologi Store’s Zero Waste Festival Kit.
There’s a huge ecosystem of businesses that support our music practice, from instrument makers to vehicle rentals. Many are taking great green strides while others lag behind. To help speed the transition, ask businesses about their green goals or, even better, only buy from those with a proven track record. Some of our favourites suppliers include Rock Posters (who can print on recycled paper using toxin-free dyes), Pikip Solar Speakers and environmental event services specialists B-Alternative, Lixo and A Greener Future. For all things clothing and vinyl, check out the Fashion & Merch section.
If you do have to recycle:
From mobile phones to headphones and old clothing, use Planet Ark’s excellent Recycling Near You to work out what to take where. You might be surprised what you can recycle!
Keep a recycling bin on your tour bus or backstage.
Compost your food scraps and biodegradable products (here’s a handy guide). If you’re on tour, try the Sharewaste app to find a local compost near you.
Meanjin (Brisbane) producer and DJ Sampology used a gig rider that includes eliminating single use plastic and requesting reusable, refillable cups.
Sampology also uses his purchasing power for good, choosing to buy high quality music gear that will last a lifetime over cheaper items that will end up in landfill.
“I’m a strong believer in being a good consumer.” He explains “If you make smart choices with the gear you buy, your recordings will sound amazing, you will spend less money in the long term because you’re not constantly upgrading and replacing, and less gear will end up in landfill."
When starting out, Sampology suggests getting a good quality preamp. “If you’re mostly just recording one thing at a time (like a vocal), you should prioritise getting a good one, over a unit with cool effects. If you get this right from the jump, all of the music you build out will feel so much nicer.”
When looking at computers, consider getting a refurbished option. Not only is it significantly cheaper, but it reduces e-waste. Sampology’s tip? E-Waste Connection in Brisbane recycles and sells refurbished electronic goods, working with people with disabilities as a social hub.
With new music equipment released regularly, it can be tempting to get the latest gear. “We’ve all been there scrolling through YouTube clips of new gear drops late at night and a voice inside your head that says ‘I need that’.” Sampology says. “I’m not going to tell you how to deal with that voice, but recognise that it’s a thing. And importantly, remember that moving through the world as a conscious consumer is made up of a million small choices.”
Edit this sample text and include it in your venue rider to support your efforts to run a green tour.
Download a word document of this rider here.
Tour Manager:
We’re aiming to leave as small a footprint as possible. We’d love your help to make it happen. And we welcome any other ideas or suggestions you might have.
If you have any questions, concerns or other ideas, our TOUR MANAGER will be happy to discuss.
Principles
Wherever possible, please provide:
Please avoid:
Upon Load-in
Access to fresh/cold tap water and a fridge or ice bin with glass/aluminium drinks. Small selection of plastic-free snacks in the dressing room for when the band and crew arrive.
Green Room
Please source locally to the best of your ability - we’re on tour and are excited to experience what your city has to offer. Local breweries, wineries, and cafes are always appreciated and our preference is to enjoy local fruits and vegetables that are in season.
Diets/Allergies
On all headline shows, we request that in-house catering is vegan-friendly, including catering for support acts. We request that our support artists also follow our guidance on plastic-free and vegan riders. Meat/dairy can be included upon request of the artist. If they wish to change their rider, please ask them to speak to TOUR MANAGER.
Meals
$XX x X meal buyouts to be settled during sound-check, unless a hot meal has been arranged in advance.
Air-conditioning
Don’t worry about running the air conditioning or heat in dressing rooms prior to our arrival, we can turn these on when needed to save energy.
We would appreciate if any non-musical items, including unused condiments, left behind that can’t be returned were reused or donated to a local charity.
Thanks for your support!
For classical musicians, sheet music is often essential. However, artists are becoming increasingly concerned about the associated environmental impact. While switching to digital formats seems sensible, tablets and other electronic devices have their own significant footprint.
This is an emerging area of research and the jury is still out on the best path forward. Here are some things to consider when looking at your personal circumstances:
• When you have to print, use 100% FSC certified recycled paper stock and follow the advice in the Ethical Paper Guide.
• Some sheet music providers air freight their stock back and forth around the world. Avoid this if you can.
• If you already have a tablet at home, switching to digital sheet music is a great option to reduce your waste.
• If you plan on purchasing a new device solely for sheet music, consider borrowing or sourcing a pre-owned/refurbished tablet instead. The environmental impact from the manufacture of a tablet might be worse than paper sheet music. This depends on the amount of sheet music you use, the life of your tablet and where you are receiving sheet music from.
When it comes to sustainable set design, the music industry can look to the broader arts world for some ideas and inspiration. Julie’s Bicycle is an awesome UK charity that’s dedicated to making the creative industries sustainable. They have a vast set of resources like guides, fact sheets and webinars.
And leading theatre organisations in the UK have developed a ‘Green Book’ that aims to create a common standard for making theatre sustainably. There’s lots of info in there, but essentially the publication supports theatre makers to:
So if you’re about to go deep on design, you could do worse than setting aside a little time to dig into the Green Book for loads of great suggestions on topics like:
Of course, these kinds of individual actions are just the beginning. As the folks from The Story of Stuff say: “Over the past decades, many environmental and social change efforts have come to reflect the centrality of shopping in our culture, suggesting change can be made – or is even best made – through alterations
in our individual consumption patterns. These efforts – buy Fair Trade or organic, use a reusable bag, screw in a CFL lightbulb – are a great place to start, but they are a terrible place to stop. We know the issues we face are systemic. So we need to push for collective change.” That’s why your voice is the most powerful tool you’ve got. See Speaking Up for our suggestions on how to use it well. Or get in touch if you want to get more involved in the Green Music movement.
Jack Johnson. Photo: Photo: Kizzy ONeal
Kasey Chambers rocking her reusable bottle for Plastic Free July 2019. Photo: Artist
Fish sculpture created from trash found in Oresund, the sea between Denmark and Sweden. Photo: Ton Kung
#BYOBottle Campaign. Images courtesy artists, left to right, top to bottom: Jade Imagine, Josh Pyke, Vika and Linda Bull, Courtney Barnett & Jen Cloher, Ainslie Wills, Adalita, Clea, Bernard Fanning, Ella Hooper, Liz Stringer, Ian Kenny (Birds of Tokyo), All Our Exes Live In Texas, Oscar Dawson (Holy Holy), Midnight Oil, Angie McMahon
