Austin City Limits Buzz: ACL Promotes Environmental Stewardship

ACL's Rock and Recycle Program“Rock & Recycle” is part of an impressive environmentally-friendly campaign demonstrating Austin City Limits Music Festival’s commitment to more than just providing an amazing three-day, eight-stage, outdoor rock concert in the Live Music Capital of the World. The “Rock and Recycle” program ensures a greener future for its picturesque annual setting, the 46-acre, lakeside Zilker Park. As part of the program, ACL attendees pick up bags to fill with aluminum cans and water bottles found on festival grounds. They can trade a full bag of recyclables for an organic, commemorative ACL T-shirt, and a chance to win a bike!  ACL logoAustin City Limits has also partnered with CamelBak to create “Refill and Rehydrate”, an initiative that reduces plastic waste by encouraging attendees to bring refillable bottles and refill them with FREE filtered water at CamelBak Filling Stations! To reduce environmental waste, the Austin City Limits Music Festival bans environmentally-harmful products like plastic bags and styrofoam, and a requires that all food vendors use eco-friendly compostable plates, napkins and utensils. In another dimension of its green campaign, ACL offers the opportunity for ticket-buyers to purchase a “FanTag” – a three-dollar carbon offset from Green Mountain Energy Company. According to the ACL website, these tags offset the equivalent of 220 pounds of CO2. That’s like not driving a car 245 miles, recycling 550 aluminum cans, or planting 13 trees!  In five years, Austin City Limits claims these tags have already offset the CO2 emissions created by its generators, shore power, staff travel and festival vehicles. Green Mountain EnergyNature ConservancyThe ACL music festival also strives to promote public environmental awareness through two special outreach efforts. The Nature Conservancy, Green Mountain Energy Company and other environmental organizations will have a presence in the “ACL Cares” exhibit, a special greenspace with opportunities for festival-goers to learn more about incorporating green living into everyday life. Also, a large solar panel supplying power to the information booth will educate attendees from Lake Austin to Tarrytown about solar power! Austin REALTORS® like Brian Talley applaud ACL for its multi-tiered effort to protect the environment and to promote public awareness. On the lookout for a green home in Austin? Brian believes in helping homebuyers stay on top of Austin’s Luxury Home market. Check out Austin Home Search! Chromeo, photo of ACL by Matt EllisP.S. Want to learn more about ACL 2012? See the complete 2012 ACL line-up. Read official ACL bios of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and other nine 2012 headliners! See how ACL protects the environment. See the Food of ACL.