WATCH: It was the garbage left from campers and not the wildfires that left its mark on a pristine valley after the 2015 Pemberton Music Festival. Nadia Stewart reports on the clean-up effort now under way.
The Mayor of Pemberton says the mess left behind by festival goers is “a bit of a non-issue.”
“I think somebody took a picture right at the perfect moment when everybody was scampering away and there was a lot of garbage there certainly,” says Mike Richman.
“But I think if you go to the PNE grounds at four in the morning or an outdoor concert in Vancouver, or any areas where you have thousands of people congregated, unfortunately, people aren’t always picking up and throwing their own garbage away.”
A photo of the garbage and items left at the Pemberton Music Festival has caused outrage online.
The photo, posted by Facebook users Manu Crash and Keith Harasymiw, has been shared more than 27,000 times and has almost 11,000 likes.
Harasymiw posted the photo with the caption:
Great job on picking up after yourselves at Pembyfest. Glad to see how much you all love your gorgeous BC.
#Pembyfest #disgracefulmess
Comments quickly flooded in, such as:
There has to be intelligent life on other planets! Definitely not here! Disgusting
And
This means the tickets go up in price next year to cover the cost of the cleaning crew. \Well done.
But Richman says the cleanup crew – and trash in the immediate aftermath – was no different than the previous year at the festival.
“I drove by this morning. One area where they’d already cleaned up yesterday and there was two deer eating apples off an apple tree,” he said.
“Last year, they passed with really good marks. I expect the same this year. There was a lot of garbage. I assume they’ll do it a little differently this year and they’ll get better every year.”
Harasymiw also commented saying:
I know the mess will be cleaned but what I want is for everyone to be ashamed of being there and not doing what is right and cleaning up after yourselves. I am thankful for all the great people that are there cleaning up after your lack of self concern for the environment we all have to live in.
Colin Fry, the Agricultural Land Commission’s Chief Tribunal Officer, told Global News it will likely take the organizers about a month for the cleanup to be complete, at which point a full inspection will take place. He adds that they have done a good job in past years, and so is not concerned for this year either.
Photos of the site a few days later show the area is now clean and free of garbage. These photos were taken at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
An estimated 200 volunteers and 50 sanitation workers started the process before headliner Kendrick Lamar had even finished his set Sunday night. They picked up items such as plastic bottles, food wrappers, coolers, sleeping bags and camping chairs.
The clean up is expected to be finished by Thursday.
In a statement provided by the Pemberton Music Festival, they say staff and volunteers work continuously to maintain the grounds during the festival:
Pemberton Music Festival appreciates concerns regarding trash pickup on our festival grounds and campsites. We work continually during and after the festival to maintain clean grounds for our patrons and campers. As attendees know, the festival bowl itself is cleaned overnight of trash and debris up until the time gates open the following day. Similarly, trash is cleared regularly from the campgrounds during the festival, but as campers began to egress Sunday night until 2 p.m. on Monday, when the campgrounds were closed to the public, many of them chose to leave behind personal belongings rather than pack them out. The festival messages its patrons prior to the festival to keep our site clean and to pack out what they pack in. This messaging is also included in the festival guide which is distributed on site. What makes Pemberton Music Festival such a special event is our majestic site in the Pemberton Valley. It is certainly not in our best interest to avoid removing trash and debris continually and expediently before, during and after the festival. Major active cleaning efforts will continue zone-by-zone until we have completed our load-out from the site.
– With files from Nadia Stewart
Comments