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Glastonbury Festival Bans Sale of Single-Use Plastic Bottles

The U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival has banned the sale of all single use plastic bottles at this year’s event in June, including areas backstage, in production, catering and the dressing rooms. Over one million bottles were sold at Glastonbury 2017. In an effort to curb that number, canned soft drinks and canned Life Water will be available for purchase.

A statement made on the Glastonbury website Thursday noted that the festival’s partnership with Green Peace inspired the environmentally-conscious move. The fest has also announced plans to supply “hundreds of free water taps” around the site, tripling in numbers from 2017. All attendees — Glastonbury draws an average of 135,000 concertgoers — are encouraged to bring a reusable water bottle, though they will not be prevented from bringing single use bottles from outside festival grounds.

The festival recommends attendees use reusable water bottles, which can be refilled at any of the hundreds of free water taps around on the Glastonbury site.

“We have a mains water supply from Bristol Water, with water of the same quality as your taps at home,” the festival’s site explains. “We are also tripling the number of WaterAid kiosks where you will be able to refill your bottle. Free drinking water will be available from all bars across the site.”

Soft drinks and water sold at the festival will be available in cans instead of plastic bottles. In 2017, the festival says it recycled nearly 45 tons of aluminum cans and expects that number to increase in 2019, while the 40 tons in plastic it recycled will reduce significantly.