Tents left behind The tiresome picture of garbage after the Openair - but it's slowly fading away

Like almost every festival, Openair Gampel ends with various tents left behind. Media manager Olivier Imboden comments on the problem.

They come as surely as the hangover after a night of partying at the Openair Gampel: the images of partly destroyed, abandoned tents and mountains of garbage on the festival site. And every year, non-festival-goers are outraged by the piles of garbage.

At Openair Gampel, too, dozens of tents and pavilions were already lying around the camping area on Sunday morning. But media manager Olivier Imboden puts things into perspective: "We have found that the behavior of young people does not reflect their bad reputation."

Every camping visitor is given a garbage bag at the start of the festival. "These are used a lot," says Imboden. In addition, visitors are made aware on the numerous screens that they should take the items they bring back with them.

According to Imboden, the amount of waste tends to decrease from year to year. Last year, the situation was particularly pleasing: "We saw less waste than ever before on a drone survey."

Openair Gampel has also entered into a partnership with the company Niuway. This is committed to greater sustainability at festivals. The tents are rented out and recycled for reuse after use.

Rain at an inopportune time

Despite all efforts, various tents and pavilions are still being left behind, even if they are still completely intact. "We have no use for these leftovers," says Olivier Imboden. The poles are separated from the tent sheets and disposed of separately.

Imboden also sees a problem in the specialist trade: "Pavilions in particular cost almost nothing these days." This means that the value of the equipment is being lost.

This year, the weather may also have played an unfavorable role: Soaked and muddy tents are more likely to be left behind. However, if the trend perceived by the organizers continues, there will already be fewer tents to collect in the Upper Valais at the next Gampel edition. However, the tiresome image after festivals will not disappear completely for a while yet.

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