Campsites

We want to make it as easy as possible for you to leave no trace at Boardmasters – our Leave Only Footprints Crew will be in the campsites managing the litter bond, handing out bin bags and at waste points to make it easy for you to tidy up as you go before heading in to the Main Arena.

• Exchange a bag of rubbish at the Litter Bond exchange to redeem your £20
• Look out for our clearly marked recycle & waste pens
• Take your tents home and keep your camp clean
• Don’t wee (or worse) on the farm, we have enough toilets!
• Use our water stations for free refills
• Dispose of vapes carefully using the specialist bins in the Campsite & Arena or take them home with you. Vapes are hazardous waste which can’t be included in our recycling process. 

Waste & Litter

Waste Management

Boardmasters sees waste management as one of its biggest priorities. The location of the festival means we have to work with the best teams to ensure we limit any impact outside of the festival site. 

We update and improve our plans for waste management at Boardmasters Festival year-on-year. We started working with a new supplier in 2023, who specialises in sustainability, proudly sending ‘zero-to-landfill’. With their dedicated knowledge on proper practice and collaboration with our onsite Leave Only Footprints Crew, Boardmasters were able to achieve a 6% increase in recycling rates from 2023 – 2024. 130 tonnes of waste went to recycling – that’s the same as an Antarctic Blue Whale!

We have also invested heavily in a large workforce and additional, specialised cleaning infrastructure machinery in order to speed up the operation and allow for a more thorough and comprehensive process. 

Using the right bins and not dropping litter on the ground helps us immensely in managing our waste as a festival. We are assisting you by providing larger waste bins and in more areas around the site – as well as having our Leave Only Footprints Crew of volunteers on hand to help with any questions.

Litter Bond

The Boardmasters Litter Bond scheme was first introduced in 2018 and continues to be a success with our visitors who join us in our campaign to Leave Only Footprints.

To encourage festival-goers to leave no trace, a refundable £20 litter bond will be automatically applied to all Boardmasters camping tickets. You can redeem your litter bond and claim the £20 back by handing in a full bag of rubbish at our litter bond exchange at the festival.

The Litter Bond exchange is located in the Campsites and the exact location will be communicated to all festival-goers ahead of the live event, and clearly sign posted during the event itself.

Prohibited Items

For many years we’ve banned items that have a negative impact on the festival site. 

We do not allow any single use plastics – including bottles, sauce sachets, cutlery and serveware at traders. Plastic straws have also been banned since 2015.

Cigarettes & Vapes

If you smoke or use vapes, please be aware how dangerous this can be to the local environment and wildlife. 

Throw your cigarette butts in the bin, and make sure to either take your empty vapes home or dispose of them in a vape bin.

Vapes = hazardous waste! There are safety issues with the lithium batteries inside them prone to causing fires if damaged when binned in general waste or recycling. Batteries hidden inside vapes can cause fires if crushed or damaged in general recycling or waste streams. Vapes must be recycled separately at the specific bins located in the campsites and arenas, or please take them home with you.

Water

Don’t forget to bring a reusable bottle so you can use the free water points throughout the weekend and keep hydrated.

As an added bonus, it also helps us towards reducing plastic waste onsite. And if you forget your bottle, don’t worry – you can buy your own exclusive one from our merch shop.

Travel & Transport

Did you know that 80% of festival emissions come from audience travel!

Since 2021, Big Green Coach has offset 100% of the carbon produced whilst transporting festival goers to Boardmasters – making the service carbon neutral. 

If everyone who we transported to Boardmasters by coach in 2024 travelled individually by car, the passenger miles they travelled would have totalled 3,010,505 miles. Or…121 times around the earth! 

In 2024, 317,134.3 kilos of carbon were saved and offset through coach travel.

By car sharing, or better still, using public transport or cycling to the festival we can significantly reduce the amount of pollution produced. Click through to our green partners – Big Green Coach, GWR, and make use of our shuttle bus service. It also reduces traffic and queues into the festival meaning you can get in and start your Boardmasters week quicker.

Sustainable Impact

For Boardmasters to be sustainable, we all have a duty to make sure that the land on which we call home is looked after. It’s a significant task but one we are passionate about. We cannot do it without all our visitors and the team working across our sites. There are many ways in which we ask for their help to protect our environment and the future of Boardmasters. Find out more in the sections below. 

It’s integral we all do our bit to create an environment where everyone is inspired to take immediate positive action.

Here are just some of the ways you can help to Leave Only Footprints and make this year’s Boardmasters the greenest yet. 

• Take your tent home and keep your campsite clean
• Travel to Boardmasters with Big Green Coach, by train with Great Western Railway or liftshare with friends​ 
• Bring your reusable water bottle + fill up at the free refill points
• Join our Leave Only Footprints Crew
• Join a daily beach clean​
• Return a full bag of litter & redeem your £20 litter bond
• Walk, run, cycle or take the shuttle bus between festival sites 
• Join morning campsite clean up parties – look out for the clean up conga to be in with the chance of getting a Boardies treat! 
• Don’t urinate (or worse) on the farm, use the loos provided

Volunteer with the Leave Only Footprints Crew

The Boardmasters Leave Only Footprints Crew are a group of friendly sustainability enthusiasts who embody the ethos of Boardmasters, ensuring people are tidying up after themselves, whilst still having a good time.

They help us to protect the Cornish coastline and create a greener, cleaner festival!

Trebelsue Farm, Watergate Bay and Fistral Beach combine to make an incredible festival experience – and we need your help in respecting the coastline to look after it together. The Leave Only Footprints Crew are on hand throughout the festival week, helping you to Leave Only  Footprints. 

Whether it’s locating the litter bond point, nearest water refill location or any general questions you may have – keep an eye out for how they can help you have a positive impact at Boardmasters.

2026 applications will be opening soon!

Boardmasters: Looking After Nature 

Why This Plan Exists

Boardmasters takes place in a stunning coastal landscape at Watergate Bay full of important habitats and rare wildlife. That’s why, every year, we create a detailed plan to protect the environment and help it thrive, not just during the festival, but long-term too.

This plan is called the Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan, and it’s a key condition granted by Cornwall Council as part of our permission to run the event.

What We Have to Do

Each year, we must:

• Submit a Habitat Management & Monitoring Plan 30 days before the festival starts.
• Show how we’re protecting nature and helping it improve.
• Get approval from Cornwall Council before setting up the site.

This plan covers:

• Protecting birds like Corn Buntings and their nests.
• Taking care of rare plants, bats, badgers, owls, and other wildlife.
• Monitoring and managing lighting to reduce harm to wildlife and keep the night sky dark.
• Keeping certain areas off-limits to the public to protect habitats.
• Regular checks and reports before, during, and after the festival.

Who’s Involved?

We work closely with expert ecologists from Spalding Associates. They:

• Walk the site regularly (before, during and after the event).
• Monitor wildlife like ground-nesting birds.
• Tell us if we need to change anything – like adding fencing or adjusting lights.
• Help write reports for the council and organisations like the RSPB.

 Key Dates & What Happens

How We Protect Nature

• Fencing: We use Heras (temporary) and stock fencing to protect important wildlife areas. This goes up 5–12 August.
• No-Go Zones: Some fields are completely off-limits to the public (you’ll see signs and fences).
• Roving Patrols: Trained teams patrol sensitive areas day and night. They’re backed up by a 4×4 response team.
• Lighting: We use minimal, downward-facing lighting that follows strict rules and stays away from key features such as important commuting routes for nocturnal animals like Badgers, bats and owls – this both avoids disturbing wildlife and local residents.

 Habitat Improvements (2024–2025)

We’re also improving nature in the area by:

• Planting 170m of Cornish hedges (with more added each year).
• Creating coastal grassland and wetland planting.
• Removing invasive species like Montbretia.
• Supporting large areas of set-aside habitat for breeding Corn Buntings, with special land use (less grazing, more cover-crops a key habitat, etc.).

 #LeaveOnlyFootprints