Who ate all the pies?

Tomorrow's FA Cup Final at Wembley provides a moment for reflection on what happens when plenty of people congregate in one place for an event - that in the midst of having fun, a lot of waste is generated and energy consumed.

A study conducted by Cardiff University in the wake of the 2004 FA Cup Final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium has revealed that the massive ecological footprint of the event was some 3000 hectares (one hectare being around the size of the pitch) - meaning that 3000 hectares would be needed to provide all the resources consumed at the match. Processed food and drink, electricity and water usage, transport all add up to create an impact for each fan ten times greater than the stay-at-home fan. Here are some overwhelming numbers:

"The Manchester United and Millwall fans at that match put away 37,624 sausage rolls, pies or pasties, 26,965 sandwiches, 17,998 hot dogs, 12,780 burgers, 11,502 packets of crisps and 23,909 portions of chips. And this was all washed down with 303,001 pints of lager, 66,584 pints of beer and 38,906 pints of cider, as well as 12,452 bottles of wine, 90,481 shots and 63,141 bottles of alcopops. The binge left its mark on Cardiff's city centre, with 37 tonnes of glass, 8 tonnes of paper and 11 tonnes of uneaten food left behind. None was recycled."

Summer festivals offer another set of examples - although instances like the Big Green Gathering and Beach Break Live offer a different and changing genre where sustainability and ethicality (is that a word?) are core elements to the festival itself. Even Glastonbury is getting on the act - although still fairly slowly - by providing recycled loo paper for all festivalgoers instead of people having to bring their own.

This post isn't supposed to be a depressing, caveman whinge that we shouldn't have cup finals or summer music festivals, but rather, an optimistic assertion that things don't have to be this way and that a different, more sustainable way of living is possible. We can enjoy ourselves and live lightly on the earth (glass half full!!). Big events can even make a neutral contribution to the environment. We just have to imagine things being a bit different to where they are now, and get off our bums to make imagination reality.