The 2026 festival season generates enough single use packaging to fill more than 500 double decker buses

Green Solutions Packaging Solutions

As festival goers head to some of the season's biggest events this bank holiday weekend, from Reading and Leeds to Creamfields and Notting Hill Carnival, new research reveals the sheer volume of single use plastic left behind across a UK festival season.

Across UK festivals each year, more than 105 million single use packaging items are discarded including takeaway boxes, coffee cups, and plastic bottles. Together, that packaging would fill more than 500 double decker buses.

The average festival goer produces around 2 kg of waste a day, nearly twice as much as household waste per person, with the majority coming from takeaway food packaging and drink containers.

Meanwhile, three in four Brits (76%) believe festivals should only use plastic free food packaging, according to new research commissioned by materials innovation company Xampla.

The study also found four in five (80%) of the public believe all food packaging should be plastic free where possible.

Following the UK's clampdown on single use plastic food packaging in 2023, paper and card packaging has become increasingly common at festivals. However, many of these paper based containers are lined with a thin layer of hidden plastic. This hidden plastic lining makes takeaway containers difficult to process in waste management streams therefore they can end up in incineration or landfill. 

Recent advances in technology and materials innovation mean that genuinely plastic free packaging that is suitable for a variety of waste streams is now possible. This means that plastic free festival food packaging could soon become the norm. 

Innovative materials made from natural polymers, such as Morro Coating, provide paper with suitable resistance to grease and moisture, eliminating the need for hidden plastic coatings.

The breakthrough means that consumers can enjoy their takeaway in a container that is lined with plants, not plastic. Morro Coating is both recyclable and fully biodegradable, returning back to nature just like the plants it is made from. 

Developed over 15 years at the University of Cambridge, materials innovation company Xampla’s Morro Coating is already replacing plastic in food to go packaging at international scale, through partnerships with foodservice delivery platforms such as Just Eat Takeaway.com.

CEO Alexandra French said, ‘Festival goers want to be able to enjoy themselves without worrying about their plastic footprint. It is clear that most people want the food they eat at festivals to come in packaging that does not harm the planet.

‘The good news is that the alternatives now exist at scale, helping event organisers and suppliers make the right choice for their customers and the plant. Plastic free materials, such as Morro, offer all the requirements of conventional packaging, without leaving a lasting mark on the environment.’