As part of their "eco-friendly" tour, Coldplay has been entertaining Cardiff for the past two nights.
The band claimed that they were working to make their Music Of The Spheres Tour as environmentally friendly and low-carbon as they could.
Before the concerts on Tuesday night, Chris Martin traveled into the city center by train.
However, how eco-conscious are the band's followers, and what kind of an effect do these tours have on the neighborhood?
The band played for more than 100,000 fans in the city's capital, including Sarah Owens, 23, who went to the concert to mark her birthday.
She praised the gig's environmental friendliness as amazing.
"Before the concert, a video was played that explained how the proceeds from the ticket sales were donated to worthy causes like saving the ocean and planting trees.
"All of the cups' interiors were made of paper; there was no plastic anywhere. The confetti and wristbands were also made of paper. ".
She continued by saying that, as Coldplay's tour takes them across the globe, their advocacy for sustainability is crucial and that what they are doing is actually having a positive impact.
As a senior cleansing officer for Cardiff Council, Samantha Thomas is in charge of making sure the city's streets are clean before, during, and after events.
After a concert like Coldplay, she has a team of eight people who clean up the entire city. Thanks to their system, they are able to predict when to enter each area and clean.
There are two ways we go about doing it, so we collaborate closely with the Highways Department to ensure that the teams can enter when the streets are clear.
We know that the majority of spectators will arrive at the stadium around 8:00 p.m. on this evening (Tuesday), so the teams are prepared to leave as soon as highways notifies us that the roads are clear enough to operate. We only operate within the boundaries of the road closures. ".
When people leave the concert, she claimed, everything is comparatively clean because the teams went in and did a thorough sweep, empty the trash cans, and remove all the trash.
"After the event is over and everyone has left, a new team returns at 11 p.m. and performs a thorough cleaning once more. They will finish up around three or four in the morning. ".
Ms. Thomas explained that this team worked from the outside in, starting with the outer town before moving into the pedestrian-only shopping districts like Queen Street and the Hayes.
Last but not least, they clean up Caroline Street, also known as Chippy Lane, which is home to many takeaways in Cardiff and is more likely to be littered.
How can a gig be completely forgotten about in a city?
We consider the dynamics, the musical style, or the sporting event, according to Ms. Thomas.
We consider the population and the available space so that we can determine exactly what resources we'll need to ensure that the city is clean the following day. " .
When it is a sold-out rugby event, like the Six Nations, Ms. Thomas continued, they are aware that people will be out drinking or loitering around the streets and the stadium, so each event is assessed differently.
"We need to clean up around and inside the areas that will be more populated when the gig is over. You need to be more aware of the people. " .
Ms. Thomas claimed that when she arrived earlier to conduct her pre-checks, she was quite surprised.
"I was taken aback by how clean it was. Unbelievable, the city is very clean, especially in light of more recent events.
The teams have enjoyed the pleasant atmosphere and the fact that it hasn't been too filthy. ".
So how much waste does this kind of event produce, and what happens to it?
From start to finish, Ms. Thomas estimated that the weight would be between three and four tonnes.
What happens to the waste ultimately depends on where it came from, she continued.
If it's street sweeping, it's contaminated; therefore, it goes to a waste transfer station before being delivered to Viridor for incineration.
This implies that waste is burned at extremely high temperatures, producing two by-products: bottom ash, which is made up of materials that do not burn, and fly ash, which is made up of residue that is collected using air purification technology.
Zero waste is disposed of in landfills because both of these byproducts are recycled.
Separated commercial waste is recycled after being separated.
We anticipate that the next performance will be very different because, as I've already mentioned, the audiences and musical genres for each gig vary. ".
Reduce, reinvent, and restore are the three guiding principles for Coldplay's tour, and their fans appear to share that same commitment to the environment. But will other musicians follow their lead?
