Concerts are not as green as they seem

Since before the appearance of COVID, concerts in Mexico had increased in the last decade. And so far in 2022 alone, more than two hundred thousand people have gathered at the two concerts that have been held in the Zócalo of the CDMX. Of course, the garbage left behind from these concerts (disposable cups, cigarette butts, food scraps) It does not go unnoticed by the environment.

How much garbage do concerts generate?

No one denies that music is food for the soul or that concerts are a great social amalgam to enjoy the live performance of any artist you admire.

However, these massive concerts and festivals, in addition to bringing together thousands of people, accumulate all the waste that attendees generate during each event, even before attending. Here you can review some examples of actions that have gone unnoticed by a common assistant, but not by the planet.

concert tickets

• With hologram.

  Although the trend of these tickets has been downward due to their non-recyclable materials, its production continues to generate a significant carbon footprint.

• With QR or digital code.

  Although a document in your email may seem like nothing contaminating, the reality is that it continues to comply with the law of conservation of matter: it is not created or destroyed, it is only transformed. And, in this case, both a mailas a file they generate 50 grams of carbon dioxide for their generation.

waste at concerts

When the organizing company of the event contemplates the placement of garbage cans in the planning phase, they are generally not enough for the number of attendees or there are no cans destined for the separation of waste according to the recycling classification.

So the remains of popcorn, apples and sausages are in the same space as the glasses glued with chamoy and the plastic containers that kept the nachos warm for a few minutes. In this way, recycling is a practically impossible mission, so the waste generated in a few hours of fun ends up in an open-air dump.

Other forms of contamination

In addition to those mentioned, concerts generate other sources of environmental pollution, for example: the amount of electrical energy consumed, the means of transport used by attendees to get to and from the venue, light pollution from directed lights or giant screens, sanitary waste or noise pollution that alters the behavior of fauna, modifying its habits and ecosystems.

In the end, the concerts after a concert

Recently, initiatives have been generated that seek to offset the environmental impact produced by concerts, such as the case of ViveLatino, which has implemented actions to prevent soil contamination by allocating spaces for the collection of cigarette butts and promoting the separation of waste for subsequent recycling.

This and other collaborative projects can be an important step for the celebration to be complete, however, there are still other loose ends to reflect on. One of them is the fashion, which makes it almost a clothing rule to go to certain events as if you had just come off a catwalk. Are sequins, neon tops or jackets made of synthetic materials really necessary to enjoy the event?