Anyone who has attended a major music festival will know that the aftermath left behind the weekend’s festivities is nothing short of apocalyptic. This company, initially founded as a sixth form project, wants to combat it… with cardboard tents.
It’s an ugly but all too familiar sight at festivals: acres upon acres of rubbish strewn across muddy fields, a large proportion of them cheap and trashed tents, often bought for the occasion and considered disposable.
Contrary to the popular belief that left-behind tents find a second life with charities, the reality is they only end up tossed in landfill. Budget tents are often made from polyester or nylon with a coating of silicone or acrylic and cannot be recycled.
According to a company called Envirotent, a staggering one-third of UK festival-goers leave their tent behind (that’s roughly 250,000 tents a year, enough to fill 142 football pitches). But this same company wants to change that.
The solution is rather unlikely… with cardboard tents.
The Concept of Envirotent Cardboard Tents
Envirotent have created cardboard tents which can be fully recycled post event. For a nominal fee, they’ll ensure your tent is gathered and properly recycled.
That being said, if it’s not recycled, cardboard decomposes naturally in 2-6 months, a stark contrast to plastics, which can take up to 500 years and break down into smaller harmful microplastics.
How these cardboard alternatives compare to plastic tents in terms of CO2 emissions emitted from manufacturing has not yet been investigated or compared.
What are the cardboard tents like?
The tents are like seven-sided domes (which kind of remind us of large kennels but our standards are lowered at festivals, right?). They come fitted out with bedding so all you need to do is chuck your backpack inside and you’re ready to rock ‘n roll.
Envirotent has a pre-pitched model, meaning that the cardboard tents will be erected for you for the duration of the festival, which will vary in cost, but starting from £125 per festival. So no drunk ikea-like construction is necessary and even better, no lugging of poles, the tent material and stakes as the alternative, which is a hassle at the best of times.
Withstanding the elements
Given festivals’ notoriously muddy and wet reputation, how do these cardboard tents fare?
According to the founder Tayla, this isn’t your standard Amazon packaging cardboard, it’s super thick cardboard with less holes, and can withstand short exposure to extreme elements just as well as a standard tent. However, we presume it’s best to avoid reusing it and finding out the hard way.
Many festival-goers praise the cardboard tents for their sound insulation and ability to block out light. So they might not totally block out your neighbouring tent’s 4am acoustic guitar session, but they do apparently offer a bit more quiet than your average thin-walled tent. A bonus for those who may want to actually sleep during a festival.
Our thoughts
Cardboard tents may sound like an oxymoron, especially for the uninitiated festival-goer. Still, with some benefits they offer, both environmentally and in terms of convenience, it’s a trend worth watching.
As festivals seek ways to become more sustainable and reduce their footprint, innovations like Envirotent are a step in the right direction.
But our overall honest consensus? You could just buy a good tent for life and take it home with you. Just a thought…