AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin Parks Foundation is a part of the Austin City Limits Music Festival in very big, very green ways.
During both weekends of the festival, the foundation manages the "Rock and Recycle" program, the "Divert It!" program and manages the water refill stations around Zilker Park.
Rock and Recycle encourages concert-goers to pick up a bag of recyclables from the festival grounds in exchange for specially designed ACL Fest T-shirts. The Divert It! program enlists volunteers to encourage and educate fans by helping them compost, recycle and send less waste to landfills.
The Austin Parks Foundation also manages the water refill stations that keep music fans hydrated throughout the day by allowing them to fill up their reusable water bottles to reduce waste and less the plastic footprint.
It's these efforts that make the Austin Parks Foundation the festival's main beneficiary. In 2021, ACL generated $6.7 million toward Austin park improvements. Over the last 17 years, the festival has provided nearly $50 million to Austin's public park system.
According to a press release, the Austin Parks Foundation is expanding its role at the fest by leading volunteer operations with Austin Kiddie Limits, greeters, media team, volunteer HQ and backup.
Austin Kiddie Limits provides an area for younger fans to enjoy the festival. Greeters facilitate the smooth entry and exit to the festival by guiding patrons around the park. The media team supports members of the media in their work at the festival. And support teams, volunteer HQ and backup provide administrative and other support to all the other teams by getting them checked in and by providing extra help whenever they may need it.
“We are incredibly excited to be back on the festival grounds as a leader in several sustainable practices that make a significant impact on keeping our green spaces beautiful and clean,” said Colin Wallis, CEO of the Austin Parks Foundation. "We are grateful to all the volunteers that continue to support APF and do their part while watching some of the best live music our city has to offer.”
This is the fifth year the Austin Parks Foundation has managed the Rock & Recycle and Divert It! programs and the second year of managing the water refill stations.
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