Environmental cost of Coachella
A not-so-Instagram-worthy snapshot of the festival’s impact
Hannah Sonberg / Managing Editor / The USD Vista
Tens of thousands of music-lovers rejoice in Indio, California each weekend of the Coachella Valley Music Festival that takes place every year in April. The crowds will pile toward each stage, creating an ocean of eager young adults cheering and stacked on each others’ shoulders waiting for their favorite artists. As the excitement builds in anticipation of headliners like this year’s Ariana Grande, Childish Gambino, and Tame Impala, just about the last thing on the festival-goers’ minds is what kind of environmental impact their attendance at Coachella will cause.
A recent impact report on festivals like Coachella and Stagecoach showed that attendees produce 107 tons of solid waste per day, tripling that number by the end of the weekend, only to produce that same amount again during Coachella’s second weekend. The Coachella website promotes many sustainability efforts that the festival offers, and even states that “75% of America’s waste is recyclable but we only recycle around 30% of it.” You may think that this statistic placed under the header “No Impact Coachella” points toward some impactful sustainability campaigns from the festival, but unfortunately that is not the case. The same impact report showed that only 20 percent of the 107 tons produced daily by Coachella ends up recycled – even less than the average American recycling rate that Coachella advertises. Over two weekends of Coachella, the waste adds up to 642 tons of solid waste, with only 128.4 tons being recycled. Coachella states that 75 percent of their waste can be recycled, and if that amount was met, over 480 tons of the 642 would be recycled. So why doesn’t Coachella actually recycle 75 percent, or at least the 30 percent they say is typically recycled?
In 2017, the Indio City Council allowed Coachella’s attendance to rise from an already impressive 99,000 people to a whopping 125,000. With the quick increase of attendance rising 26 percent, Coachella will be bringing in higher profits, and more attendees to ignore Coachella’s sustainability efforts. All of this does not detract from the attempts that Coachella makes to lessen its environmental impact. Coachella donates unwanted and left-behind camping equipment to the Galilee Center which gives sleeping bags, tents, coolers, chairs, etc. to underprivileged families living in Coachella Valley. The festival also offers water refill stations and reusable bottles available for purchase, as well as a 10-for-1 plastic water bottle trade-in that offers guests merchandise, upgrades, and fresh water for bringing in stray bottles. Art-covered recycling and trash bins are located throughout the festival and there is even a way to recharge cell phones by simply doing some exercise. Coachella provides unique ways to save energy and the planet, but that doesn’t mean that people will use these programs. Unfortunately, when walking the grounds of Coachella, trash covers the supposedly Instagram-able lawns, proving that despite the festival’s efforts, not everyone participates.
You may also be wondering about those giant pop-up stages. How much energy does it really take to keep those lights, fog machines, and projections running? Most of the stages and amenities that keep attendees cool in the heat and dancing to their favorite artists are powered by diesel machines. You may have heard of the Weekend 1 gas fire explosions that put festival campers at risk. The same diesel is what fuels the captivating light shows for artists’ sets. Due to the massive size of the stages and the elaborate stage requests from artists, these diesel generators often burn out, which means they have many, many backup generators to ensure a smoothly-run show. Diesel exhaust includes gases that are extremely toxic for animals and our earth, and are frequent contributors to the deterioration of natural habitats. Carbon monoxide, for example, is a gas let off by diesel generators that prevents oxygen from reaching vital organs in the human body. Nitrogen oxides, another emission from diesel generators, are a main component of smog and form with other gases to create acid rain. Neither are good for our earth or our bodies, yet both are emitted in mass at Coachella.
When next year rolls around, and you see that pre-sale notification from Coachella, think about what that $500 ticket is contributing to. Don’t be shrouded by the allure of an artist you’ve never seen live before, or the sun-soaked, fairytale pictures you’re planning on taking. Instead, do your research. How are your actions affecting the world around you? It may not seem like one person opting out of the 125,000-person festival will provide much of an impact, but your actions will start the wave. And if you do still decide to attend Coachella, bring your reusable water bottle, recycle appropriately, and respect the land that allowed the festival to happen in the first place.