The post-festival grounds fall just a few steps below a landfill. Water bottles lie on the floor, contorted, like fumigated bugs. Flat-as-pancake-stomped cans are discarded on the ground. Cigarette butts lay in waste, and there is a formidable thickness of grime and sweat all over. Adding insult to injury, when debris is scattered so close to an aquatic ecosystem, for example, Bayfront Park, it can seem as if the litter is mocking the pristine waters.
Ultra Music Festival and its “Mission: Home” sustainability program have set a goal to keep the Biscayne Water flowing through Bayfront Park unaffected for the past 6 years and are undoubtedly leading the way for eco-friendly music festivals in North America.
It’s quixotic to think that the grounds are cleaned up each night with some magical vacuum cleaner: It’s through the efforts of the festival, especially its Sustainability Director, Vivian Belzaguy Hunter, and her six-person team, who manage Bayfront Park before, during, and after the festival, and make each day seem like new…