From 28 to 30 August, EXIT 2 Montenegro – Sea Dance Edition in Budva brought together music, creativity and sustainability, showing that environmental responsibility can be an engaging part of the festival experience. Through INSPIRE The Change, an environmental initiative focused on responsible packaging management and innovative solutions for preventing plastic pollution, festival-goers had the opportunity to actively take part in sustainability efforts while enjoying the festival programme.
Over the three festival days, more than 10,000 cans and PET bottles were collected, while 200 personalised T-shirts were distributed to visitors. Fresh fruit was also served as a refreshment in pouches made from innovative coated INSPIRE paper, bringing a practical application of sustainable materials directly into the festival environment.
As part of the ReCan Foundation’s “Every Can Counts” programme, visitors could hand over their empty cans and PET bottles to mobile promotional teams. Using Solagro’s award-winning Smart Flex system, the teams issued vouchers that could be exchanged for personalised T-shirts. With demand exceeding expectations, the initial batch of 150 T-shirts was increased by an additional 50, bringing the total to 200 unique festival souvenirs. At the INSPIRE The Change Corner, artist Đurađ Stevanović personalised each T-shirt with a unique environmental message, turning a simple festival souvenir into a creative expression of sustainability.
The INSPIRE The Change Corner also introduced festival-goers to coated biodegradable coated paper, an innovative material developed through the European INSPIRE project. The material was put into practice on site, with fresh fruit served in pouches made from INSPIRE paper, offering visitors a tangible example of how innovative alternatives to conventional plastic can become part of everyday festival life.
By bringing together responsible packaging disposal and recycling, innovative solutions for reducing plastic use, and creative audience engagement, INSPIRE The Change presented sustainability as something to experience, rather than simply a topic to talk about. Festival-goers were not just introduced to new ideas – they became part of them.
The INSPIRE The Change initiative was implemented as part of the European INSPIRE project, under the umbrella of the EXIT Foundation’s Green EXIT Adriatic platform, in cooperation with the ReCan Foundation’s “Every Can Counts” programme and Solagro.
INSPIRE is a four-year project funded by the European Union through the Horizon programme. Its goal is to contribute to the restoration of oceans, seas, rivers and other aquatic ecosystems by 2030 by detecting, collecting and valorising plastic waste – and, above all, by preventing new pollution at its source.
