Visitors to the Roskilde Festival in Denmark are helping keep the festival grounds clean through an innovative waste collection game created by festival organisers in partnership with environmental and technology partners. Using a digital rewards system, festivalgoers earn points for collecting litter and sorting recyclable waste at designated stations, with points redeemable for food, drinks, merchandise, and other prizes. The initiative encourages thousands of attendees to actively participate in keeping the venue clean while promoting recycling and responsible waste disposal during one of Europe’s largest music festivals.
The programme is part of Roskilde Festival’s long-term sustainability strategy to reduce waste and increase recycling rates. The festival, which attracts around 130,000 visitors annually, has set ambitious environmental goals by promoting reusable products, circular waste management, and community participation. Organisers say turning waste collection into a game has significantly increased engagement, reduced litter across the site, and demonstrated how behavioural incentives can make large public events more sustainable. Environmental experts believe similar reward-based programmes could be adopted at concerts, sporting events, and festivals worldwide to cut landfill waste and encourage lasting environmental awareness. More