The Wacken Open Air takes place on green meadows, and we want it to stay that way. We therefore ask all visitors to be considerate of the environment and to work together to reduce the festival’s ecological footprint. All the measures to achieve this are summarised under ‘Green Wacken’.
Waste disposal:
At the wristband collection point, every guest will receive, free of charge, a black bin bag for general waste and a yellow bin bag for plastics. In the camping areas, there are orange waste bins for separating general waste, plastics and paper/cardboard. From 27 July 2026, Trash Mobile vehicles will be driving around the camping areas, collecting full bin bags and handing out new ones. Bulky waste, such as furniture or fridges, must be taken away with you after the festival and disposed of privately.
Please only bring what you really need. Think about it before you arrive: what do I really need? Every item less in your luggage means less waste in the end. Thank you for helping to conserve resources and make Wacken Open Air more sustainable.
Cigarette butts harm the environment. To counter this, there are 20 neon-green Ballot Bins along the main walkways, where you can vote on W:O:A-related topics using your cigarette butt. The cigarette butts are subsequently sent for recycling.
Since 2019, the #greenwacken campaign has been running for when you leave:
Post a photo of your tidied-up campsite on Instagram on the day you leave, using the hashtag #greenwacken2026, and win some great prizes.
The competition runs from 2 August 2026, 8.00 am, until 4 August 2026, 11.59 pm.