Witney News - Cornbury Goes Green

Cornbury Goes Green

Organisers are getting a helping hand from the District Council to turn this year’s Cornbury Music Festival into an eco-friendly event.

More than 15,000 revellers are expected at this weekend’s festival at Cornbury Park near Charlbury and they will all be encouraged to recycle as much waste as possible, rather than binning it.

Sixty five recycling bins will be set up at locations around the festival and campsites. West Oxfordshire District Council is also setting up four recycling points using large (1,100 litre) recycling bins – the same size as those used at recycling banks.

The recycling bins will be clearly labelled so that festival goers can simply drop in their used glass bottles, aluminium tins and cardboard. The bins will be regularly emptied over the weekend and all items sent for recycling.

The Council’s contractor, Veolia, and council recycling officers will be on site during the weekend to make sure that all bins are emptied regularly.

Cllr David Harvey, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “The Cornbury Festival is a wonderful event and the organisers should be applauded for their efforts in encouraging people to be environmentally friendly. This will help send out a message that recycling is the best option and we are keen to see just how successful this is going to be.”

Festival Director Hugh Phillimore comments “We were hoping to be the 1st UK festival to trial the new British Standard 8901 for sustainability at events this year but we ran out of time. However the recycling support we’re getting from West Oxfordshire District Council is fantastic and will put us on the right road to keeping Cornbury environmentally friendly. It’s hugely important for us to do everything we can to improve our green credentials especially as we are lucky enough to have our festival in a historic deer park.”

Cornbury Music Festival started 4 years ago and has become renowned as a unique, eclectic family event which draws in crowds from far and wide. Performers at this year’s event, which runs on Saturday and Sunday (July 7th and 8th), include David Gray, Blondie, The Waterboys, The Proclaimers, Scott Matthews and The Feeling, among many more.

There will also be a range of entertainments including street performers, fairground, children’s workshops and arts and crafts trading village, as well as a diverse variety of food stalls.

For more details about the event, including ticket prices, visit www.cornburyfestival.com or call 0871 472 0420. For more details about the recycling services run by the Council, visit the website www.westoxon.gov.uk or call 01993 861020.

Photo shows Hugh Phillimore with Bob Lightfoot, Environmental Operations Manager