Confetti at Kiel Week: Environmentally friendly or a waste problem?

Confetti at Kiel Week: Environmentally friendly or a waste problem?

Today, June 29, 2025, Kiel Week is in full swing, and the Fördebühne is celebrating with colorful hustle and bustle and music. The guests sing, dance and enjoy a special highlight: the confetti bombs that whiz through the air during the concert and shower the crowd with colorful snippets. But as the celebration reaches its climax, dark clouds gather and bring with them a heavy rain front. Two days after the festival, an unpleasant spectacle occurs: the confetti, which initially brings joy, quickly turns into a muddy pile.

The environmental concerns cannot be ignored after such a change in the weather. Ole Eggers, managing director of the Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation, expresses concern about the amount of waste that visitors leave behind. The city has already introduced clear guidelines to ban plastic confetti and is relying on biodegradable tissue paper, which is used in the Förde stage and the Kölsch stand. “The decomposition time depends on various factors, but can occur within weeks or months,” explains Eggers. Wetness and high temperatures in particular accelerate this process, which represents a small ray of hope in the debate about waste disposal.

Sustainability in focus

Kiel Week has not only made a name for itself as a festival, but also as a pioneer in sustainability. In 2019, the event received Platinum Level Certification, the highest honor in Clean Regattas and a sign of the city's commitment to environmentally friendly practices. This certification has been made possible by compliance with the international standard ISO 20121, particularly inspired by the 2012 London Olympics. These standards include guidelines for designing events sustainably and help control environmental, social and economic impacts.

The implementation of sustainable practices is ensured through a systematically planned approach, which can ultimately lead to cost optimization and greater efficiency. In times when pressure regarding ecological responsibility is constantly growing, actively dealing with these issues is an essential requirement - not only for large organizations, but also for local events.

Challenges of waste disposal

However, with the anticipation of spectacular events comes the challenge of waste disposal. At mass events such as Kiel Week, the waste problem is inevitable. The city hopes that street cleaning will be used to remove the remnants of the celebration, but complete control is not guaranteed. “The garbage problem in the sea cannot be prevented 100% at such events,” points out a city representative.

In summary, Kiel Week is not only a celebration of culture and community, but also has a clear focus on environmental awareness. It remains to be seen whether the city can implement this sustainably. However, if you look at the initiatives and the certifications carried out, you might think that they are working with a good hand and that the future can be shaped in an environmentally friendly way.

Further information about the sustainability measures during Kiel Week can be found in the articles on kn-online.de and kieler-woche.de. For deeper insights into the standardization of sustainable event management systems, you can also take a look at the informative page certeuropagroup.com throw.