After the closure of the Sziget Festival, the Maltese Charity Service collected more than two thousand abandoned items, mostly tents, sleeping bags, and camping chairs. Most of these items will be distributed to children’s camps and homeless people. This year, they also collected torn tents, which will be recycled.
For the seventh time this year, the Maltese Charity Service was a key partner of the Sziget Festival in reducing the event’s ecological footprint. At the organization’s donation point, attendees could drop off their unnecessary tents, mattresses, sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, and other camping equipment throughout the week, according to the statement released by the Maltese Charity Service on Wednesday.
As stated in the release, after the event’s closure, 120 volunteers from the Maltese Charity Service and the invited civil organizations combed through Hajógyári Island to gather the items left behind by festival-goers that were still in good condition.
The operation resulted in the collection of 300 tents, 300 mattresses, 170 foam mats, 180 sleeping bags, 280 blankets, 320 pillows, 240 towels, 400 camping chairs, 15 tables, and 30 tarps. These were transported from the site by the charity’s 7.5-ton truck and eight box vans.
“These items will still be of great use in children’s camps, and for homeless people, they can be invaluable; blankets and sleeping bags could even save lives in winter,” the statement highlights.
“Year by year, the range of items we can recycle expands,” said Tamás Szentkereszty, head of the Maltese Charity Service institution and coordinator of the collection efforts after the Sziget Festival.
He pointed out that a few years ago, they also started collecting discarded reusable cups. Thanks to a grant, they acquired an industrial dishwasher at the Miklós Street Integrated Homeless Care Center, where these reusable cups will be used instead of disposable paper or plastic ones, he added.
New this year, along with the items in good condition, they also collected about 150 damaged or torn tents and mattresses. Another partner of the Sziget Festival will recycle these materials, creating items like backpacks and fanny packs, which will be available for purchase at the festival’s gift shop next year.
By collecting the abandoned camping equipment, the Maltese Charity Service not only provides help to those in need but also supports the Sziget Festival organizers in transitioning to a circular economy, the statement emphasizes.
(MTI)
