Love Tomorrow’s dedication to sustainability manifests in new initiatives in partnership with Tomorrowland festival. In 2023, one of the latest additions to this commitment was the introduction of compostable, 100% wheat plates. Whilst the bamboo cutlery had been present at the festival since —, plates were the next step to take in the journey to a mono-flow of materials.
This introduction means that all food products are now fully compostable, allowing festival-goers to sort their waste with ease: after finishing their meal, food packaging and food remnants would all go to the same bin, making sustainable decisions easier than ever. It’s clear that visitors want to make the right choices for our planet, so these introductions actively work towards making it simple for them.
This development was not without challenges. Initially, the legislation around the use of compostable materials was not clear, making it difficult for the events sector to clarify the best actions for sustainable options. However, Tomorrowland works closely in cooperation with OVAM (Openbare Afvalstoffenmaatschappij voor het Vlaams Gewest (Public Waste Agency of Flanders), not just for the fesivals, but for the overall events sector, too.
Has the introduction of compostable plates made a difference? This was investigated by Seavents, the sustainability advocates taking control of waste production and management in events across the world. Over the two weekends, Seavents took manual samples of the GFT waste and manually sorted the contents to discover the extent of waste contamination at the festival. The results were impressive. 90% of it was sorted correctly, meaning the waste was suitable for a waste processor.
This brings us to the final stage of the waste journey: composting. The on-site machine turns all of the biowaste waste into compost, which is then given back to De Schorre, completing a cyclical journey. Nourishment is given to the grounds that Tomorrowland has called home for so long, as the festival takes vital steps away from residual waste.