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Swiss techno festival goes plastic free in 2018

George Mills
George Mills - [email protected]
Swiss techno festival goes plastic free in 2018
Bars at the Techamsee festival will not be allowed to use plastic glasses. Screengrab: Techamsee

The organisers of Switzerland’s Techamsee Electronic Dance Openair event are planning to make the event free of plastic to set a green example.

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Techamsee, held in the canton of Zug, attracts around 8,000 people according to organisers. This year is the eighth edition of the lakeside festival.

But caterers at the 2018 event will be replacing plastic with paper products and wood. Drinks will be served in paper cups and food will be served with wooden cutlery.

Read also: Seven great summer music festivals in Switzerland

“People are more and more aware of plastic in the world’s oceans,” Ramon Landtwing, the man behind Techamsee told Swiss news portal 20 Minuten.

“For us, pollution in Lake Zug is just as bad as in the ocean,” said Landtwing, noting that because the dance event is directly on the shore of the lake, it is inevitable that some rubbish will end up in the water.

The event organiser admitted cardboard was not the best answer to the problem but said alternatives were difficult to find as industry was yet to come up with an optimal solution for single-use cutlery.

"With this action, we want to shake people up. We hope other event organisers follow suit," he said.

Techamsee’s move away from plastic is part of a world-wide trend.

Authorities in the Swiss city of Neuchâtel in May announced plans to make the city the first in Switzerland to ban plastic straws, although the move has since hit a legal roadblock.

Two of Switzerland's biggest supermarkets introduced a small charge for single-use plastic bags in 2016 after the national parliament refused to back a full ban. The use of such bags in the country decreased sharply as a result.

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