Closing the Loop on Event Waste

Fans want greener experiences. Regulations are tightening. And as an industry, we’re being challenged to deliver show-stopping moments with a far lighter footprint. But - where do we start?

Igniting Joy with a Lighter Footprint

How do we deliver high-impact live experiences while minimizing the environmental footprint behind the scenes? We challenge ourselves with that question every day. Our wristbands light up millions of fans every year – but, what happens after the show’s over? 

Our primary work begins when the fun ends – finding ways to keep multi or perpetual use devices out of landfills and back into the hands of fans. We’re constantly rethinking what happens after the lights go out—designing tech that’s more sustainable and more circular. 


Sustainability Is the Next Headliner

From stage builds to signage, food vendors to fan merch, the experience we all love comes at a cost—often in the form of single-use materials, emissions-heavy logistics, and limited end-of-life plans for products. We wanted to do our part in changing that. 

In 2018, we launched our recycling program – designed to bring wristbands back after the show. allowing us to recover materials, replace components like batteries, and give our wristbands a new life for new fans. 

Wins, Lessons, and a Look Towards the Future

Sustainability is a never-ending process, with no straight line to achieving it. We still have a long way to go — but here are some of our recent wins:

• Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres Tour became a real-world example of what’s possible when sustainability is embedded into fan experience from the start.

• Through our partnership, we invented the world’s first compostable LED wristband, made from sugarcane!

• We achieved an 86% wristband return rate, contributing to cutting the tour’s carbon footprint by 56%.

• In 2024 alone, 2 million wristbands were returned and refurbished instead of thrown away.

• This effort saved 99.47 tonnes of CO2e emissions — equal to 497 million Google searches or 2,218 flights from Montreal to New York.

• Recycling also conserved 30,079 kg of raw materials and prevented 21.97 tonnes of plastic waste.

We know there’s still work to do. Batteries remain one of the few components we can’t reuse, but we make sure they’re properly recycled.

Lessons learned: 

• When artists, production teams, and suppliers work together, sustainability becomes a natural part of the event. 

• More and more, sports teams, venues, and festival organizers are hiring sustainability managers, which is a huge win for the industry. (Pro tip: Get in touch with them. They want to help.)

• Recycling isn’t just about putting out bins—successfully getting fans to return their wristbands requires communication, motivating, staffing, and managing the logistics. (and a little bit of silliness sometimes).
  
  

The Challenges

Sustainability’s gaining ground, but there’s still work to do.

• Shifting Industry Habits Sustainability isn’t second nature at every event. Even with client buy-in, integrating recycling into live operations can be tough. But norms evolve—just look at how the presence of normal recycling bins at venues is now assumed. It’s time other event products enter a full-circle lifecycle.

• Making It Easy for Fans Post-show euphoria is real, and recycling isn’t always top of mind. Some fans want a keepsake, and sponsors sometimes encourage it. Our solution? A wristband with a removable LED puck, so fans keep the strap and we keep the tech in play.

• Fixing the Bins If your bin’s full of beer cans, not wristbands, it’s time to rethink. Our 2024 upgrade: netted bins, not white ones. And friendly staff at exits? Game-changer.

• Reducing Travel Miles We refurbish in Europe and North America, but to cut emissions further, we’re building more local hubs to process wristbands near events.

• The Battery Question We already recycle every battery. The goal? No replacements needed. Rechargeable installations are here—and we’re pushing wearables in the same direction.

What's Next

We’re continuing to learn, but our next steps are clear: double wristband recycling in 2025, phase out non-biodegradable materials by 2030, and expand our lineup of rechargeable and permanent lighting solutions to reduce single-use waste. Real change takes collaboration—If you’re a venue, promoter, or sustainability lead working to reduce your event footprint, let’s talk. Circularity is possible at scale—but only if we build the system together.