For the past eight years, Pickathon has set the bar high and steadily worked towards the big picture goal of eliminating 100% of the single-use waste created onsite. Primarily the result of simply stopping our onsite distribution of all single-use items (plastic cups, plastic water bottles, utensils, dishes, etc), and replacing with a reusable option and system designed for effective and convenient use. There is nothing to throw away, we do the dishes for you all weekend, and at the end of the festival you go home with a keepsake dish & cup. This is the Pickathon way of doing things…

Putting a stop to the single-use trash before it makes it to the festival has proven to be the single best solution in our quest for 100% elimination.

In 2010 Pickathon became the first music festival to eliminate all single use cups and water bottles. In 2011, we became the first large American outdoor music festival to eliminate all single use dishware and utensils. These initiatives have both contributed to the cleanliness and beauty of the festival and also have drastically reduced the volume of garbage coming in and then leaving Pendarvis Farm for the landfill each year.

None of this could be done without the enthusiastic support and cooperation of the amazing Pickathon community – our waste management team, vendors, and attendees.

So what do this mean for you while at the festival?

Dish choice #1: Similar to previous years, you’ll purchase a unique token for $10 and bring it to any of our food vendors in exchange for a plate and utensils with each order. When you’re done eating that delicious Portland cuisine, you’ll bring your dirty dishes to one of the Dish Return Stations and get another token for use with your next meal. At the end of the weekend, you’ll redeem this token at the Dish Booth and take your new Pickathon dishware and utensils with you.

Dish choice #2: You can opt-out of the whole token/dishware system and manage your own reusable dishware and utensils all weekend at no cost. This means you need to bring your own clean dishware to a food vendor, and then wash your own dishware and utensils yourself at our DIY Dishwashing Station, then store it at your campsite and repeat all weekend long.

Cup Choice #1: You can purchase one of our collectible Klean Kanteen 2018 Pickathon Pint Cups and use it all weekend in the beer gardens, then bring it home at the end of the weekend.

Cup Choice #2: You can bring, use, and wash your own cups, for no cost, for use with our food vendors for any non-alcoholic drinks. We have to limit this choice to non-alcoholic drinks only: coffee, smoothies, lemonade, anything in the food vendor area. The beer garden will only pour into Pickathon Klean Kanteen cups. These cups can be your very own from home, but they gotta be those Pickathon Klean Kanteen cups from 2010-2017.