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Hundreds of thousands of people attend festivals every year, and Instagram is littered with pictures of revellers setting up camp as they dig in for a few days of fun and chaos.

It’s usually a pretty sight with colourful people and a free-spirited community, but what Instagram hardly ever shows is the ‘after shots’ of these communities.

One can reasonably expect there to be a good deal of trash lying around, but in recent years there has been an uptick in people taking the ‘single-use’ approach when it comes to their camping gear as well.

So much so, that an estimated 250 000 tents are left behind at UK festivals annually.

While many of these tents are repurposed for various initiatives, it still remains a thorn in festival organisers sides.

One startup has decided to focus on this specific problem by creating camping gear that’s recyclable and biodegradable – because it’s made from cardboard.

EnviroTent is the brainchild of Tayla Evans, a 21-year-old who hopes to offer a greener solution to campers and cut plastic pollution at festivals.

“One in three people leave their tents behind, and the majority of these go to landfill — for us, it’s about making a positive impact on this figure so that even when people do leave their tents behind, we just recycle or reuse it,” says Evans.

EnviroTent started as a school project in 2019, as part of the Young Enterprise competition. Evans and her team won the UK finals in 2020 – but Evans was inspired to start the business for real. Enlisting the help of seasoned designer Carsten Astheimer, Evans began taking the cardboard tent from concept to reality.

 

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Opting for a seven-sided log-shaped structure instead of the typical triangle tent shape, Evans says her tent optimizes space and avoids feeling claustrophobic.

“I think a lot of people were a bit unsure about it,” says Evans. Made with thick, corrugated cardboard, the two-person tent is sturdier than people think, she adds — and more than up to the task of a three-day festival weekend, come rain or shine.

So far, Evans has made several prototypes — including one that sat outside for four weeks in March. “It only collapsed when it snowed, which obviously in the summer, you’re not going to have snow — hopefully,” she adds.

The cardboard tents trap heat more easily, which makes them warmer — good on a cold morning, but perhaps less appealing in a summer heatwave. They also keep out the light, which Evans says is popular with festivalgoers looking for a morning lie-in. The plain cardboard exterior is also customisable, which is helpful to amuse kids at family-friendly festivals as well as making your tent more easily identifiable in a sea of similar-looking shelters.

While still at the very early stages, Evans ultimately plans to set up the tents at festival sites for the occupants for £125 (R2 900) per tent, which she says will make it more convenient for travellers — and potentially provide a bonus benefit.

“The fewer things that people have to bring with them to a festival, the more likely they are to use public transport to get there, and that also helps cut down on the CO2 emissions of the festival,” she adds.

EnviroTent isn’t the first to pitch cardboard tents as a solution to festival waste. Dutch company KarTent began producing cardboard tents in 2015, in response to the growing problem of single-use tents.

KarTent’s two-person pitched-roof tent, which retails for €68 (R1 300), is made from 73% recycled cardboard and, like EnviroTent, says it is waterproof (they even put it through a carwash to test it). The used tents are recycled after the festival, and turned into other cardboard products, including recycling bins for future events.

These cardboard tents are 100% recyclable ⛺️♻️ pic.twitter.com/fku6WtVdUw

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) January 13, 2022

Waste at festivals is a huge problem, and one that is immediately visible – the day after a festival usually looks like scenes from a plane crash.

Hopefully, these cardboard tents catch on.

[source:cnn]