News from Falls Festival

Every summer since 1993, Falls Festival has been at the forefront of the East Coast Australian festival scene, in the heart of the Otways in Lorne. Over the past 27 years, Falls has been developed and fostered by a group of family and friends; this tradition continues today. Lots of love and attention goes into every detail, which we look forward to sharing with you again this summer.

Falls Festival has not only become synonymous with breaking local and international music but also their important innovative sustainability ethos. Just some of their most noteworthy green initiatives include –

  • plastic bottle bans onsite (removing 25,000 PET plastic bottles from landfill),
  • 100% composting toilets,
  • water harvesting facilities from onsite dams,
  • up-cycling waste into creative reusable art,
  • carbon offsetting,
  • carpooling rewards for drivers,
  • sustainable organic packaging mandates for caterers,
  • important education activities onsite for patrons.

In 2018 alone, the festival managed to divert 46% of all waste from landfill, directed back into recycling, with a plastics reduction of 7 tonnes compared to previous years!

This year, we will continue to collaborate with organisations such as B Alternative and Green Music Australia. Both these organisations are focussed on reducing the environmental footprint of music festivals and other gatherings. 2019 is shaping up to be an incredible year for the festival, with Falls striving for even better results again, making a huge push towards “reuse” as a more sustainable alternative to “recycle”.

Falls Festival is also actively involved in local community projects and has again launched their annual Community Fund where $1 from every ticket sold is being re-invested back into local resident-voted initiatives. The funds are distributed to a range of local groups and organisations in recognition of the invaluable contribution they provide to the well-being of our whole community. Some of our past winning projects include Lorne P-12 College, Lorne Kindergarten, Lorne Football and Netball Club, Lorne Historical Society, Lorne Bowls Club and Carols on the Lorne.

If you wish to make an application to the Fund, you will find the application form here – fallsfestival.com/lorne/explore/community-grants-fund/.  Don’t forget, applications close at 5pm on Friday, October 25.

Falls Festival Team