Bay Dreams North
New Zealand’s festival favourite Bay Dreams is an annual music festival that features a diverse lineup of international and local talent. Closed Loop has partnered with Trademark Live to provide our sustainable waste management services at the popular music festival since 2019.
Over the years, Closed Loop has maintained a recycling and repurposing rates above 75% and have improved year-on-year from our ongoing sustainability recommendations and continuous involvement with the event and their organisers
Sustainable achievements, year after year
Years of solid results
Music festivals generate a lot of waste, from beer cans to food packaging. To ensure events like Bay Dreams are enjoyed by people and the planet, Closed Loop hand-sort all waste that enters the event.
Over the past 3 events, more than 77% of waste has been repurposed. This includes making compost from food waste and food packaging for use as home and commercial compost.
In 2023, the event experienced unexpected weather changes which saw a drop in our improving repurposing rate. Wild and wet weather contaminated waste with mud including single-use plastic ponchos. Where we could, we collected and recycled single-use ponchos through our soft plastics stream.
Amongst many other recommendations, Closed Loop’s post-event sustainability recommendations included highlighting the effect that weather can have on an event’s waste and the importance of communicating and implementing sustainable wet weather practices.
Repurposing and recycling rates YoY
| Year | Waste generated | # of material streams | Repurposing rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 116.65m³ | 10 | 74.3% |
| 2021 | 143m³ | 10 | 81% |
| 2020 | 286m³ | 10 | 77.9% |
*There was no event in 2020
Material streams
Waste was separated into a range of waste streams such as the below. From soft plastics to separating the different colours of glass, our team are diligent in separating all waste to capture it’s value.
Cardboard
Collected and recycled into new paper products and packaging locally.
Plastics 1's, 2's & 5's
Bailed and recycled into new rigid plastic items locally and overseas.
Organics & compostables
Food waste and certain compostable food packaging was composted into compost for home and commercial use.
Aluminium cans
Collected, compacted, bailed and recycled into other aluminium products locally and overseas.
Paper cups
Collected and recycled locally into saveBOARD, a low carbon building material.
Soft plastics
Soft plastics, including some single-use ponchos used due to wet weather were collected and recycled locally into saveBOARD, a low carbon building material.
Green glass
Glass was separated into colours to keep it in it’s highest value. Glass was recycled into new glass products locally.
Clear glass
Glass was separated into colours to keep it in it’s highest value. Glass was recycled into new glass products locally.
Brown glass
Glass was separated into colours to keep it in it’s highest value. Glass was recycled into new glass products locally.
See how we achieve epic repurposing rates:
As a part of the Sustainable Events Alliance, and leaders in providing holistic circular economy solutions for events and venues, we proudly work with like-minded clients.
