Rock & Recycle
Rock & Recycle
When you throw an outdoor party as big as ACL Festival, there’s more to think about than just putting on an amazing rock show.
Join us in our commitment to ensuring a greener future Zilker Park and Austin.
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Rock & Recycle
Want to earn a cool t-shirt for helping us keep Zilker Park clean? Visit one of the four Rock and Recycle Centers to pick up a bag to fill with recyclable cans and water cartons. Then you simply trade the bag of recyclables in for your organic commemorative t-shirt made by Five Bamboo and a chance to win a bike. At ACL Music Festival you rock, you recycle, and you win! Visit any Rock & Recycle Center for more details.
Refill and Rehydrate
Throughout the park, you will find CamelBak Filling Stations offering FREE filtered water to keep you hydrated all day. Help reduce waste by bringing your own refillable bottle or purchase a limited edition ACL Festival CamelBak bottle or pack available at the Filling Station next to Rock Island Hideaway and on the north end of the main field (just past the Art Market). Cheers!
Travel Green
Ride the festival shuttle. Use pedal power. Carpool. Take a hike. The Festival grounds are near downtown and the city’s Hike and Bike Trail. Take advantage of the bicycle parking located near each entrance to the festival. Use eco-friendly ways to come and go and join thousands of others to green up your travel. Mellow Johnny’s is on site with their Bike Tent for all your fixes and repairs, click here to get 2011 info.
Offset Your Carbon Footprint
Prior to the Festival, fans are offered the chance to purchase certified carbon offsets from Green Mountain Energy Company when buying their tickets or anytime they visit the festival’s website. By adding the $3.00 Green Mountain Energy® FanTag to a ticket, fans offset the equivalent of 220 pounds of CO2. That’s like not driving a car 245 miles, recycling 550 aluminum cans, or planting 13 trees. Over the past five years, Festival producers have offset the carbon dioxide emissions created by the event’s generators, shore power, staff travel and festival vehicles.
C3’s commitment to track and offset Austin City Limit’s carbon footprint, along with offering event goers an easy way to offset their own emissions, has helped to offset approximately 3,400 metric tons of CO2! This has the same environmental impact as taking approximately 240,000 cars off the road for one day, or the amount of CO2 absorbed in a year by over 450,000 trees. All carbon offsets purchased from Austin City Limits will benefit the Southtex Greenwood Farms project in Taylor, TX. The project is third party certified by the Climate Action Reserve, which means the offsets are real, permanent, additional, and verifiable. Click Here to buy your FanTag now!
split123ACL Festival Greening Efforts
Keeping Zilker Park and the planet healthy and around for future generations are key missions of the Festival. ACL is committed to minimizing its carbon footprint through careful examination and planning of all production logistics, like biodiesel run generators and light towers, placing hundreds of recycling bins throughout the grounds, and using biodegradable paper products. Here are more ways in which ACL strives to lessen its environmental impact…
Carbon Offsets
Over the past five years, Festival producers have offset the carbon dioxide emissions created by the event’s generators, shore power, staff travel and festival vehicles. This year, ACL will also be offsetting Carbon Dioxide emissions caused by all bands traveling to and from the Festival. The commitment to track and offset Austin City Limit’s carbon footprint, along with offering event goers an easy way to offset their own emissions, has helped to offset approximately 3,400 metric tons of CO2! This has the same environmental impact as taking approximately 240,000 cars off the road for one day, or the amount of CO2 absorbed in a year by over 450,000 trees. All carbon offsets purchased from Austin City Limits will benefit a Climate Action Reserve offset project in Texas.
Water Campaign
With record droughts and uncontrollable wild fires, water is a primary concern of the Central Texas community and Austin City Limits Music Festival. Producers have developed a water campaign to reduce water waste, while enjoying Central Texas’ most valuable natural resource.
The Festival’s water sponsor, h2O, has eliminated bottled water sold on the festival grounds. h2O is pristine water sourced from the Canadian Niagara Escarpment and packaged in recyclable cartons. The cartons are sustainable, unlike plastic, a petroleum based product. They are BPA free and printed with water-based, solvent free inks on paper sourced from managed forests. These recyclable cartons are collected and recycled by ACL Music Festival fans through the continued Rock & Recycle program.
Event Water Solutions’ innovative triple filtered water filling stations will return in 2011 to reduce wasted water and help keep patrons hydrated in the unforgiving Texas heat. Staff, volunteers, and patrons are encouraged to refill their bottles at the CamelBak Filling Stations throughout the park. In 2010, Festival volunteers poured 111,850 Liters of water at these stations for thirsty fans and staff members throughout the weekend. That is equivalent to 223,700 bottles of water!
This year, ACL has partnered with The Nature Conservancy of Texas to promote the celebration and conservation of Texas’ precious natural resource-water. The Nature Conservancy is the sponsor of the misting fans on site, and will be engaging fans for a chance to win a Kayak!
Waste Diversion
Thanks to the diligent efforts of ACL fans, volunteers, and staff, ACL 2010 saw the highest waste diversion rates in the history of the Festival; by cubic volume, we diverted 58% of the waste. We strive for a higher rate in 2011 through an expanded composting program and a continued ban on items that can be harmful to the environment such as plastic bags and styrofoam. The Austin Eats Food Court features both front and back of house composting, and all vendors are required to use eco-friendly, compostable plates, napkins and utensils.
Park Improvements
Since early 2007, a portion of proceeds from every ticket sold has gone to support improvements at parks all over town. Improving Austin’s green spaces for the entire community is an essential element of the Festival’s green mission. ACL is proud to support the Foundation in education, advocacy, and ecological restoration projects across Austin, including the Barton Creek Greenbelt, The Shoal Creek Greenbelt, The Bull Creek Greenbelt, and the Zilker Preserve.
Volunteers
Once inside the park, patrons find 3 dedicated teams of Environmental Initiative volunteers, helping to spread the green message by offering to take recyclables, filling water bottles at the CamelBak Filling Stations, and helping fans choose the correct bin to discard their waste in the Austin Eats Food Court. These volunteers have their own specially designed “Rock & Recycle” organic t-shirts, yet another way to help spread the greening message. About 200 volunteers per day are committed to the Festival’s environmental initiatives.
Community Outreach/Exhibits
The Nature Conservancy, Green Mountain Energy Company and other selected organizations have a presence in the ACL Cares – a special greenspace, which gives patrons an opportunity to learn more about how they can practice “green living” in their everyday lives. Also near the Barton Springs entrance, patrons will see a large solar panel prominently displayed, which helps educate fans about the power of the sun. This solar panel supplies power for the information booth and nearby site enhancements.
We want to extend a huge thank you to all of you who help ACL Festival tread more lightly on the planet! Have questions or comments? Write us at greening@aclfestival.com.
