refillrevolution Archives

In conjunction with Earth Day, the Sustainable Concerts Working Group (SCWG), led by multi-platinum recording artist and PPC notable member Jack Johnson and his team, announces the launch of BYOBottle (Bring Your Own Bottle), an environmental campaign that engages artists, venues, festivals and fans to reduce plastic pollution in the music industry by promoting reusable water bottles and water refill stations at music events.

BYOBottle, modeled after Green Music Australia’s successful BYOBottle Campaign, encourages artists to travel with reusable water bottles and to take action by including language within their riders, requesting venues to provide water refill stations backstage in lieu of disposable water bottles, and more. BYOBottle also encourages music venues and festivals to commit to greening by providing water refill stations for both fans and artists. Fans are also encouraged to make their own BYOBottle commitment and show their support by bringing their own reusable water bottles to concerts and festivals whenever possible, reducing the use of single-use plastic, and sharing their BYOBottle commitment on social media.

“There is a powerful wave of momentum building to reduce plastic pollution. BYOBottle is a campaign that the entire music industry can unite around, and everyone I’ve been talking with is excited to join and be part of a solution. Expectations are changing around what makes a positive and successful music event, and sustainability is a huge part of that. I’m excited to help show what concerts can look like if artists work together with fans and venues or festivals to reduce plastic waste,” said Jack Johnson.

Artists who have signed on in support of BYOBottle include Ben Harper, Bob Weir, Bonnie Raitt, Dave Matthews Band, Dawes, Dead & Company, Empire of the Sun, Flume, Jack Johnson, Jackson Browne, Keb’ Mo’, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, P!nk, The Lumineers, Maroon 5, Steve Earle, Steven Van Zandt, Wilco, and more.

Lollapalooza, one of the largest music festivals in the United States, has committed to provide an increased amount of water refill stations for both fans, artists, and staff and will continue to make a wide range of reusable bottles available for purchase. C3 Presents will also promote the BYOBottle message at other festivals throughout the year including Austin City Limits Music Festival and Sea.Hear.Now. Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Ohana Festival and Australia’s Byron Bay Bluesfest, Splendour in the Grass, and Falls Festival have also signed on. Venues have also made the BYOBottle commitment to provide water refills stations to artists and fans, including 30 Live Nation owned and operated venues and Forest Hills Stadium.

“Live music brings people together and provides an amazing platform to reach fans. C3 has a long history with sustainability and we are proud to support programs like BYOBottle, which helps bring attention to the important issues like the plastic pollution crisis and provides a simple course of action to drive positive change in greening the music industry,” said Farid Mosher, Senior Guest Services Manager at C3 Presents.

In support of BYOBottle, Jack Johnson will host a press conference at Bluesfest (Byron Bay, Australia) on Saturday, April 20th, alongside musicians Lukas Nelson and Nicky Bomba, of Melbourne Ska Orchestra.

For the full list of pledged support visit, www.byobottle.org/partners.

Artists, venues, festivals, non-profits, business partners and fans who visit www.byobottle.org and join the campaign are provided tools and resources, including environmentally focused “Green” language for artists to include within their riders, reusable water bottle and water refill options and vendors, guides on how to promote reusable pint cup programs, eliminate plastic straws and reduce the overall plastic footprint of shows with access to case studies, research, articles and much more.

Humans purchase about 1,000,000 plastic bottles per minute, and it is predicted that by 2050 the oceans will contain more plastic, by weight, than fish. The music industry’s momentum to combat the plastic epidemic is growing and BYOBottle continues the pursuit by working with artists, venues, festivals and fans in efforts to turn the tide on plastic pollution.

About Sustainable Concerts Working Group (SCWG):

The Sustainable Concerts Working Group is a collective of music industry leaders and environmental advocates who believe in an environmentally responsible and sustainably driven music community. SCWG brings together experts in the field to disseminate tools and resources that can help each stakeholder: artist, venue, festival promoter, fan to do their part to drive long term positive social and environmental change.

Lead SCWG organizations launching this BYOBottle campaign include the Jack Johnson team, Green Music Australia, REVERB, EFFECT Partners, Plastic Pollution Coalition, Live Nation, AEG, C3 Presents, Partisan Arts, Synergy Global Entertainment, and guidance and support from the Johnson Ohana Foundation, Julie’s Bicycle, We-Refill, Tangaroa Blue, UPSTREAM, Algalita, Lonely Whale, Surfrider Foundation, 5 Gyres, the UN Environment Clean Seas campaign, and many more.

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Today singer and multi-instrumentalist Giacomo Riggi released ‘Plastic Song’ published by Workin’ Label.

‘Plastic song’ talks about the damage that plastic is causing to our planet. The music video, made under the direction of “Milt Studio,” was shot in various locations of Salento, Italy.

In a press release the musician said: “These pristine places are populated by female figures of different ages and nationalities entirely dressed in plastic, to symbolize how much pollution closely affects human beings, who, on the other hand, seem unaware of the problem by continuing to further poison the environment.”

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Urge Changes in Hotel’s Single-use Plastic Policy

Nov. 21, 2018 – LOS ANGELES, CA – Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Stevie Van Zandt and Jackson Browne joined Plastic Pollution Coalition in calling for a boycott of all Marriott International-owned hotels in response to their policy of using plastic containers for room service.

Van Zandt and Browne are notable members of Plastic Pollution Coalition, a global alliance working toward a world free of plastic pollution and its toxic impacts on humans, animals, waterways, the ocean, and the environment.

More than 8 million tons of plastic pollution enter the world’s oceans each year, harming animals and ecosystems. Toxic chemicals in plastic can leach from food containers and are linked to human health problems such as cancer, infertility, and obesity.

“The last thing we need right now is more plastic waste,” said Van Zandt. “There is no longer any excuse – if there ever was – for businesses to sacrifice environmental responsibility for profit. The two are no longer mutually exclusive – if they ever were – and any attempt to present the false choice of one over the other is a lie.”

Posts on Marriott Hotel’s social media channels show customers complaining about the plastic containers for room service since 2016. A Tweet from Van Zandt calling out Marriott on Sunday was liked 1.4K times.

”We each have it in our power to support businesses that take care not to further degrade our environment, and to bring that considerable consumer power to bear in the fight for a sustainable future,” said Jackson Browne. “I’m happy to answer Stevie Van Zandt’s call for this boycott. I spend much of my year in hotel rooms, and it is absolutely my choice not to stay where they serve food in plastic.”

Dianna Cohen, Co-Founder and CEO of Plastic Pollution Coalition, said: “We stand with our notable Coalition members in calling for a boycott of Marriott Hotels until they change this wasteful practice of using plastic containers for room service. The time is now for Marriott to reduce their plastic footprint on the earth and think ‘reusable’ instead of ‘disposable.”

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Wonderfruit, Thailand’s pioneering, sustainable celebration of art and music has eliminated single-use plastic for its upcoming festival Dec. 14-17 in Pattaya, Thailand. The move is in line with Wonderfruit’s fundamental ethos of sustainability and community.

After joining Plastic Pollution Coalition earlier this year, Wonderfruit made major changes to reduce the festival’s plastic footprint:

“Wonderers” are encouraged to bring their own bamboo or steel flasks and bottles.
All food will be served on compostable tableware. Wonder Feasts will be served on areca nut palm leaf plates.
Drinks will be poured into cups made of bagasse, the fibre that remains after sugarcane stalks are crushed to extract their juice.
Reusable steel cups will be available for purchase.

Now in its fourth year, Wonderfruit is built on six pillars: Arts, Music, Family, Farm to Feasts, Talks & Workshops, and Wellness & Adventures, all of which are informed by its ethos to use the event as a platform to catalyze meaningful and positive impact.

Steel cups help Wonderfruit join the #RefillRevolution

As part of the festival’s Scratch Talks, Dianna Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Plastic Pollution Coalition will speak along with Bea Johnson, author of “Zero Waste Home;” Dr. Singh Intrachooto of Bangkok’s Kasetsart University; and Anukool Saibejra, the founder of Folkrice. This year’s music line-up includes: DJ Richie Hawtin, Roots Manuva, Khruangbin, Gui Boratto, and more.

Throughout its history Wonderfruit has pioneered eco-friendly initiatives, including making the event carbon positive and planting a mangrove tree in Myanmar for every “Mangrove Drink” sold.

“I commend Wonderfruit for taking action to reduce the festival’s plastic footprint on the earth,” said Dianna Cohen. “Congratulations, Wonderfruit for working towards becoming a zero waste festival.”

Take Action to stop plastic pollution.

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How much waste is created by plastic containers for dish soap, laundry detergent, fabric softeners, and cleaning products? A new company is breaking the ‘take, make, dispose’ cycle and using refill technology to reduce plastic waste.

About the same size as a standard soft-drink vending machine, EcoPod refills multiple products from a single station. Users simply bring their containers to the EcoPod, select their desired refill product, and place bottles in the correct dispensing area. All products are immediately ready for use.

EcoPod Founder Henry Pino got the idea as a high-rise developer who was concerned about the incredible amount of waste from laundry detergent bottles he saw in condo and apartment buildings. “EcoPod makes a lot of sense for the convenience of the tenants in that it is a permanent system that gives them accessibility to any cleaning product at any time,” said Pino. “It’s faster and cheaper than even Amazon!”

Another benefit: Building developers can receive LEED certification points. According to Pino, the refill system can be used in supermarkets as well and will save stores and shoppers money by bypassing the standard distribution process of small plastic containers stocked on store shelves.

The next step for EcoPod is working to create stainless steel refillable containers.

To learn more, contact EcoPod.

Take the pledge to REFUSE single-use plastic.

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PPC member Steelys Drinkware provided free water refill stations and stainless steel cups and bottles; helps Outside Lands divert nearly 300,000 single-use plastic cups and bottles from the waste stream.

There was much to celebrate at the tenth anniversary of Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival Aug. 11-13 in San Francisco, California, USA. Artists such as The Who, Gorillaz, Metallica, Lorde, Tove Lo, and Dawes drew more than 200,000 people to the 3-day festival, and the festival upped its greening efforts by enlisting PPC member Steelys Drinkware to help divert nearly 300,000 single-use plastic cups and bottles from waste.

Steelys sponsored ten free water refill stations that allowed festival-goers to refill their reusable cups and bottles with filtered tap water. The water stations poured 142,092 liters of water over 3 days–the equivalent of saving 284,184 single-use 16-ounce plastic cups and bottles from waste.

In addition to the water refill stations, Steelys produced 4,000 reusable Outside Lands-branded water bottles for sale, and worked with festival organizers to launch a first-of-its-kind reusable wine tumbler program. The festival’s “Winelands” tent featured premium wines from Northern California. The 600 reusable Steelys wine cups sold out in less than four hours.

“The water refill stations are saving mountains of disposable plastic from consumption, and the reusable cups and bottles we produced for Outside Lands are moving much faster than anticipated,” said John Borg, CEO of Steelys, at the the end of the first day of the festival. “The reusable wine cup program was set up as just a humble test of the concept, but the overwhelming demand for the reusable cups is huge. Many people were disappointed that we sold out so fast. This proves to us that fans are very open to trying cool, practical alternatives to single-use disposables.”

“We are always trying to find new ways to improve not only the fan experience, but also our sustainability efforts,” said Rick Farman, co-founder of Outside Lands. “Providing festival goers with an alternative to single-use plastic is one of our waste diversion priorities and we’re proud to be further minimizing our waste impact through this initiative.”

An estimated 100 billion single-use cups and 50 billion single-use bottles are consumed in the U.S. each year. Less than 8 percent is recycled.

“Plastic never really goes away,” said Borg. “It stays with us forever and impacts the health of humans and living things on our planet. We need to change the disposable mentality that’s engrained in our culture. When 300 million people toss bottles and cups in the trash daily it adds up to devastating impacts on resources and the environment.”

“Consumption of single-use and disposable plastic cups has spiraled out of control,” said Dianna Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Plastic Pollution Coalition. “Reusable steel cups and containers will help us works toward source reduction and waste diversion that makes a real impact. We applaud Outside Lands and Steelys for their efforts.”

Based in San Francisco, Steelys Drinkware is a pioneering wholesale supplier of custom reusable zero waste cups, water bottles bottles, food containers, straws, and accessories that provide an alternative to single-use and disposable plastic.

Learn how you can join the Refill Revolution.

BYOBottle Launches Internationally to Eliminate Single-Use Plastic and Green the Music Industry

To Stop Plastic Pollution