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One Man’s 90,000 People’s Trash

Last weekend over 90,000 people attended the Reading Festival in Leeds.
Reading Festival 2013 Trash 1
They left behind an estimated 150 tons of trash.
Reading Festival 2013 Trash 2
Let's take a closer look at that "trash". (Click the image for a better view.)
Reading Festival 2013 Trash 3
Yep - lots of brand new tents, many filled with sleeping bags and other camping gear.

"Camping gear is so cheap these days that people seem to make it part of their festival package budget, and don’t bother to take it with them when they leave," a festival spokesman said.

Despite a 'Love Your Tent' campaign imploring people to pack up and remove their camping gear, thousands clearly did not.

A quote from one attendee: "We never intended to abandon it but although it popped up really easily, it was impossible to get it to fit back in the bag properly. Everyone else was leaving their stuff behind so we did too."
Reading Festival 2013 Trash 4
Last year more than 20 tons of re-useable equipment was salvaged - and this year the figure is expected to be even higher.

This is sad, but at the same time it's a great opportunity for Scouts in the UK to get some free camping gear as the salvaged equipment is donated to Scouts and other outdoor programs.