Summer is the perfect season for outdoor activities - including music festivals. Of all those held in and around the capital, the MTA music festival is particularly special, because it aims to be the cleanest music festival in China.

从户外音乐节到各类体育活动比如马拉松，参与者们的热情和夏天的温度一样火热。和其它的户外音乐节相比，MTA天漠音乐节尤其特别，因为它是中国“最干净的音乐节”，现场观众也因此成为“零废弃”项目的直接参与者。

3 o'clock in the afternoon, and the show was about to start at the MTA music festival. It was held in a desert in Huailai county in neighboring Hebei province. Whilst a band rehearsed on stage, volunteers working in the nearby recycling station were busy too. 

MTA天漠音乐节的举办地点在河北省怀来县的一片沙漠中。下午三点，现场演出即将开始。乐队在台上排练的时候，舞台附近的零废弃资源回收站，志愿者们也在忙碌。

There are six recycling stations installed around the MTA music festival site, and they're the only option for audiences to dispose of their garbage- from paper cups to food waste. Novaloop is a brand established by Friends of Nature, one of China's earliest non-governmental organizations specializing in environmental protection. The zero-waste campaign was first introduced by iPledge and Novaloop at the MTA music festival in 2018. Wu Xiao is the head of Novaloop, a zero-waste solution provider for big events, including outdoor music festivals and sports events like marathons. "Three of the six recycling stations are located next to the three stages, and the others are near the catering areas. Each recycling station is equipped with five to six garbage bins labeled with glass, paper cup, plastic, food waste and other items. "

零废弃项目首次被引入MTA天漠音乐节是在2018年。执行这一项目的是iPledge和自然之友旗下专注于为马拉松、音乐节等大型活动提供零废弃解决方案的Novaloop团队。自然之友是国内最早的环保公益组织之一。今年的音乐节现场共设置了六个零废弃资源回收站，它们是现场观众想要丢弃垃圾时唯一的去处。Novaloop负责人吴骁说：“三个资源回收站设在三个舞台的旁边，另外的则在餐饮区附近。每一个资源回收站都配有五到六个垃圾桶，分类收集塑料瓶、玻璃瓶、纸杯、剩食和其它垃圾等。”

This year's campaign also marks the second time Novaloop has collaborated with its partner iPledge, a Japanese non-governmental organization, with 26 years of experience in providing zero-waste solutions to big events, including the cleanest music festival in the world, Fuji Rock. Kenta Hani, the founder of iPledge says that the support of local government and festival organizers is key to the success of the zero-waste campaign.  

2019年MTA天漠音乐节的零废弃项目也是Novaloop和日本合作伙伴iPledge第二次合作。这家环保公益组织在日本率先将零废弃理念引入大型活动，并打造了世界上最干净的音乐节----富士音乐节。负责人Kenta Hani表示，怀来当地政府和音乐节主办方的支持是今年零废弃项目得以成功的关键。“在今年音乐节的现场，基本上不会看到那种普通的黑色垃圾箱。如果现场观众有垃圾要扔掉，他们就会到我们的资源回收站，我们的志愿者会指导他们如何分类投放垃圾。大家对我们要做的事情有了更进一步的了解，他们的支持让我们的零废弃目标得以实现。”

 Nearly 50 volunteers from various cities are involved in the campaign, they're selected from over registered 500 candidates. Each group consists of 6 to 8 volunteers, their main task is to advise the audience on garbage sorting in the recycling stations at the venue. Volunteers work on a two-hour rotation from 11am to midnight during the music festival. "We provide comprehensive training for them to explain the rules on garbage sorting."

近50位志愿者参与了今年的零废弃项目，他们是从超过500名报名者中选拔出来的。每个小组由6到8名志愿者组成，他们的主要工作是指导现场观众如何分类投放垃圾。志愿者们每天从上午到午夜轮流工作12个小时，每次任务持续两个小时。

Mrs. Zhong is a monthly donor to Friends of Nature and an active participant in events hosted by the NGO. She's invited 20 families to join her community based zero-waste campaign for a year. "The audiences here are very cooperative; following our introduction, they drop the garbage in the right bin. The majority of them are aware of garbage sorting, they just don't know how to do it. Many of them thank us for explaining the rules to them. I'm more confident now to go and promote the zero-waste lifestyle in my community. "

钟女士是自然之友的月捐人，也是自然之友组织的各项环保相关活动的积极参与者。她还把零废弃的理念引入了自己所做的社区，如今已经有20多个家庭加入进来。“现场观众非常配合，非常棒。在我们的指导之下，他们会把垃圾正确分类后投入垃圾箱。绝大部分的人都有垃圾分类的概念，他们只是不太清楚如何去做。当我们给他们做了解释说明之后，很多人对我们表示感谢。我现在更有信心把我们社区的零废弃项目开展下去。”

For Li, a third-year college student, the campaign was a bit different from other volunteer projects she has taken part in. "it's a music festival, so you will naturally enjoy the music while working. Sometimes the music is too loud, so we have to use gestures to communicate with the audience. At first I thought we'd do the sorting on our own, but our job is to guide people to do it in the proper way. I'll share what I've learned here with my classmates. "

对于大三学生小李来说，做零废弃项目的志愿者的感受和其它活动有些不同。“这是音乐节的现场，所以你在工作的同时自然的就可以听到现场演出。有的时候音乐声音太大，我们必须用手势来和观众交流。我原本以为我们要自己动手分类垃圾，而实际上我们的工作是指导公众如何分类。我会把我在这里学到的知识和我的同学分享。”

It's the second time that Yimo, an outdoor sports activity enthusiast, has teamed up with Novaloop at MTA music festival. " I was a volunteer last year. As a member of core staff, my duty is more complicated this year. However, the workflow designed by the Japanese team clarifies everything in a detailed way, making our job simple and efficient. Garbage sorting is a long-term task, and I believe that this small effort could bring about a big change. "

这是户外运动爱好者Yimo第二次参与零废弃音乐节活动。“去年我是志愿者，今年我是core staff志愿者，工作职责比去年复杂多了。不过日本团队的流程非常清晰，我们的工作因此简单高效。垃圾分类是一个长期的事情，我相信小行动会带来大变化。”

During the break between two performances, Wu Xiao and Kanta Hani took to the stage to promote the zero-waste concept. Learning by doing, Kanta Hani believes that music festivals are the best occasions for raising public awareness on environmental protection. 

在演出的间隙，吴骁和Kanta Hani以及同事们登上舞台，和现场观众分享零废弃理念。Kanta Hani表示户外音乐节是最适合传递环保理念的场合之一。

In total over 1.3 tons of garbage have been collected during the music festival, 65% of which is recyclable. The audience went home with beautiful memories and left a clean venue in the desert. "The recyclable garbage is stored in a designated area after sorting. Later, it'll be taken to a garbage disposal company for professional treatment. The cleaners collect food waste on a regular basis, so the venue won't be affected by any unpleasant smells. Other waste that can't be recycled will be disposed of by the local municipal waste system. "

吴骁说，此次MTA天漠音乐节期间，1.3吨的垃圾被集中收集，其中65%可以被回收利用。观众们带走的是美好回忆，留下的是干净的音乐节现场。“经过分类的可回收垃圾在音乐节期间被存放在特定区域，音乐节之后有专门的车辆将他们运输到专业垃圾处理机构进行处理。在现场有环卫工人定期收集剩食，而不可回收垃圾将由当地市政部门负责处理。”

图片来源：自然之友&iPledge 

摄影师：GENTARO TODAKA