In this guest blog, Sustainability Manager at Festival Republic, Phoebe Close, shares how Latitude Festival worked with Terasort to use automated robotic waste sorting for the first time at a festival. This festival first initiative pushes the boundaries of event sustainability in 2026 – boosting recycling rates and driving material circularity.
“At Klarna Presents Latitude Festival 2026, Festival Republic worked with Terasort on automated waste sorting for the first time at a festival.
This activation used pre-programmed robotic arms along a conveyor belt to separate out recyclable materials including aluminium cans, rPET plastics, and paper cups from our waste streams. By recovering these materials separately, they aimed to increase recycling rates, create streams of single-materials, and collect any potential rebate value.
On-site waste sorting was identified as a key opportunity in the most recent Show Must Go On Report for festivals to increase material recovery and reduce overall impact.
As part of Live Nation’s Green Nation Charter, we have committed to achieving and maintaining a recycling rate of 50% by 2030. We’re proud that Latitude has exceeded this goal for the past 4 years, achieving an overall waste diversion (recycling and composting) rate of 55% in 2025. We are continually looking for ways to improve our diversion rates even further and continue innovating and testing new solutions at Latitude. We hope this initiative will support wider exploration and adoption of robotic sorting technology.
Potential Benefits of the Pilot
- Improved recycling rates through additional separation of recyclable materials from both our mixed recycling and general waste streams.
- Longer operating hours than manual picking lines, enabling consistent sorting throughout the festival.
- Reduced operational costs by decreasing reliance on manual sorting processes.
- A smaller operational footprint compared to manual sorting tents.
- Accurate waste data and reporting, providing valuable insights into the composition of our waste streams.
Positioned front of house, the activation was a huge success, giving festivalgoers the opportunity to see the technology in action and better understand the role they can play by using the correct bins. There was always a captive audience!”
This case study originally appeared in the July 2026 Vision for Sustainable Events Newsletter. Sign up for monthly updates and sustainability news from across the live events industry.