Huge Glastonbury Clean-Up Operation Begins After Ticketholders Signed Agreement

With Glastonbury festival over and done with for another year, workers have now launched an operation to clean up the rubbish and other belongings left behind by attendees.

Litter pickers descended on Worthy Farm today (27 June) after 200,000 people packed up and began making their way home following four days of watching performances by the likes of Billie Eilish, Sam Fender and Paul McCartney.

Images from the scene show the festival ground - which spreads across 900 acres - covered with takeaway food boxes and drinks containers, and bins overflowing with rubbish before the litter-pickers got to work clearing the rubbish that had been trampled in to the ground.

In a bid to reduce the amount of waste left at the festival, Glastonbury asked customers to sign its 'Love the Farm, Leave no Trace' pledge when paying for their tickets to the event.

The pledge formed part of Glastonbury's terms and conditions and featured five points that would help leave the farm in better condition.

It read: "I will take all my belongings home with me, inc. my tent and camping equipment. I will use the bins provided and not throw my rubbish on the ground.

"I will bag up all my rubbish using the bin bags provided and use the recycling pens. I will use the toilets provided and will not pee on the land.

"I will try to use a reusable water bottle and avoid single-use packaging."

Organiser Emily Eavis further encouraged people to leave the farm as they found it in a post on Twitter yesterday, writing: "Thank you making this such a special @Glastonbury. If you're starting to think about packing up, then PLEASE take everything home with you. Let's leave this beautiful valley in the state that it deserves. Enjoy the rest of the Festival!"

The official Glastonbury Twitter page also praised those for taking all of their belongings with them by sharing a picture of festival-goers leaving the site, along with the caption: "Big thanks to everyone who’s loving the farm and leaving no trace."

In spite of the promises made by attendees, the festival crew's recycling team is estimated to remove 2,000 tonnes of waste during its clean-up, BBC News reports.

Sean Kelly, a volunteer with the clean-up team, told PA news agency he has been litter picking 'for hours' every day of the festival.

"In the whole recycling team there is 2,500 of us and I’ve done it 10 years on the trot. It’s very similar to 2019 because it is dry, it is a lot easier to pick when it is dry. As a rule, everything is pretty much done early this year.

"There’s been a huge reduction in gas canisters this year, but there’s been a lot of vape bars and they are the only things you can’t recycle. Most things get recycled here.”