FALLS FESTIVAL NSW RFS FUNDRAISING & ONSITE SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS

Like the rest of Australia, the Falls team are devastated about the fires impacting parts of New South Wales, so to express their gratitude and in recognition of the tireless efforts of the heroic firefighters, $20 from every Falls Byron Event Ticket sold from today through to midnight Christmas Eve will be donated to the NSW Rural Fire Service. This joins the $20,000 raised during the Black Friday campaign donated to the Salvation Army disaster relief.

As they travel around Australia spreading cheer through music and arts, the crew behind Falls Festival also seek to care for and amplify the natural wonder of the environments that they call home. Falls is actioning the following onsite sustainability practices to protect their coastal homes this year.

All shows are single use plastic bottle and single use plastic cup free events! This is achieved using onsite water tanks at various sites that capture over 500,000L of rainwater throughout the year. Patrons are encouraged to bring reusable bottles to refill onsite and to participate in the festival’s reusable cup initiative with green partner Bettercup, running throughout all onsite bars. Patrons can redeem their cups or donate their Bettercup redemption to one of the Donation bins onsite – $1 per cup will go towards local charities including the NSW RFS. More about Bettercup system here.

North Byron Parklands has 246 waterless composting toilets (more than any other venue in the southern hemisphere) so no water will be used for these toilets. The 192 showers are fitted with push buttons delivering 15 seconds of water per push and have a flow rate of 5 litres/minute (and a water rating of 4.5 stars, well above the average household shower rose). In 2020, Parklands proposes to install additional water harvesting tanks, which will provide up to 85-90% of festival potable water requirements moving forward.

Onsite recycling and sorting stations divert up to 46% of waste from landfill each year and Green Teams will be wandering the event sites as always, keeping things neat and tidy and making sure that festival goers have easy access to recycling and composting facilities.

All caterers at Falls Festival are required to use compostable packaging and utensils and any leftover food is promptly donated to the legends such as Liberation Larder in Byron Bay and Second Bite – one of Australia’s leading food rescue organisations.

Eco-conscious campers will be offered the opportunity to rent their tents as attempts are made to cut down single-use camping. There will also be some fabulous campsite rewards on offer, handed out to those who are committed to keeping the scene green into the future.

Each site partners with many green organisations, with recycling experts Veolia, Green Music Australia, migrant service miracle workers Diversitat and many more all firmly on board. Falls Festival is stoked to be included in the launch of a new music industry alliance to help reduce waste at festivals. Make the pledge to party with the planet, not against it, for your chance to WIN a season pass to all participating festivals. Sign here: www.partywiththeplanet.org

Each site also engages local communities and in 2019 over $43,000 has been invested back into beneficial local projects. The North Byron Parklands are also rejuvenated every year, with more than 26 000 trees and shrubs planted to date. Falls Byron also dedicates funds to support Byron Bay’s Soul Street NYE and First Sun New Years Day activities in Byron Bay township.

When onsite make sure you do your bit this year – bring reusable water bottles to refill, look for the recycling and food waste composting stations, keep your campsite clean and take all camping equipment home with you.

With the festivals just under 2 weeks away, the sites are looking beautiful. Falls is ready to bring together people from across Australia as they welcome in a new decade.

Full details and tickets available at fallsfestival.com