How to be green at a festival

It's now come to festival season in the UK. Primarily they are usually music based but have many other activities and workshops to get involved with. With camping and outdoor pursuits it should be a very environmentally friendly affair but it seems they are becoming far from it.

Take your tent home – It can be a struggle to get a tent up when you arrive so many people decide to leave their tents at the festival field. Some organisers are able to pass on some of the tents left behind but often the sheer numbers of tents involved make this impossible. That's a lot of tents discarded after just one use. If you need to get a tent for a festival try borrowing one or getting a second-hand tent.

Keep recycling – A well organised festival will have proper waste disposal facilities. When you are camping out it can be tricky to keep all your rubbish sorted into different categories but try to make the effort. What you can't recycle at the festival needs to be taken home with you.

Scrub up – The chances of getting a nice hot shower at a festival are few and far between. Many people take baby or wet wipes but they aren't great for the environment. If you have access to clean water then a flannel or cloth lathered up with a bar of soap will help you to feel fresh.

No sparkle – It's great to let your hair down and get into the festival vibe. Getting dressed for the occasion can be part of the fun but ditch the glitter this year. All those tiny bits of shiny plastic can't broken down but will end up being washed into the sea.

Drink to it – Festivals held in summer with lots of people packed closed together can be thirsty work. It's important to keep hydrated but using lots of disposable plastic bottles and cups is not the answer. Pack up your own refillable water bottle along with the rest of your reusable cutlery and crockery.

Brave the loos – It's well-known that the loos at festival can be pretty disgusting. If you are needing to relieve yourself and are tempted to use a river, lake or pond instead then think again. The ammonia in urine reduces oxygen supply when added to water. This is turn is dangerous for fish, particularly in dry weather, and can kill them. Even using the ground can affect the quality of water in surrounding areas if there is a high volume of urine as it can reach the water table.

Car share – At any time the fewer cars on the road the better. At big events queuing to get in and out is inevitable and you can bet that many people will keep their engines running. Think of all those car fumes blasting out. Arrange to go with friends or find someone to go with through car sharing websites.

Are you going to a festival this summer? How do you plan to be as green as possible?