Colours of Ostrava
28 ǀ POSITIV 2/2026
UDRŽITELNOST
You have been processing catering waste
into biomethane and fertiliser for two years – how
does it work in practice and what does it bring you?
We collect catering waste directly on the festival site and,
in cooperation with regional partners, direct it for further
processing into biomethane and organic fertiliser. Our
aim is for the whole process to take place as locally as
possible within the Moravian-Silesian Region.
However, we must openly admit that, even in the second
year, we did not manage to protect the catering waste
completely from contamination. Although visitors,
stallholders and a large part of our team sort waste very
conscientiously, at the end of the festival there were
situations where the containers for catering waste were
contaminated with other materials. An old carpet,
for example, or part of the equipment from an exhibition
is enough, and the entire contents of the container can
no longer be processed in the required way.
For us, this is perhaps one of the biggest challenges
of recent years, because we can see a huge willingness
among people to get involved, but the final link
in the chain can undermine the entire effort.
Where we do see very positive results, on the other
hand, is in the system for collecting and buying
used cooking oil, which has been working very well
over the long term. Every year, we manage to collect
and environmentally process more than 500 litres
of used cooking oil, which then finds further use.
At the same time, we support the use of compostable
catering tableware. We enable our partners
and stallholders to purchase it on preferential terms
through the company OPTYS. We place great
importance on ensuring that not only the packaging
itself, but also its subsequent processing, remains
within the Moravian-Silesian Region.
In 2022, you sorted 80% of plastic waste – where are
you today?
We want to maintain a high level of sorting over the long
term and continue improving the system every year.
The biggest shift has not come from one specific
measure, but from a combination of several steps. Cup
bins work well, making it easier for visitors to sort waste
correctly. Replacing single-use plastics with alternative
materials also plays an important role, as does the use
of ceramic tableware wherever it is possible to ensure
it can be washed and reused.
At the same time, we have confirmed that a certain
threshold cannot be overcome simply by adding more
bins or improving signage. At a festival attended by tens
of thousands of people, there will always be a certain
degree of contamination in individual waste streams.
That is why today we are increasingly focusing not only
on sorting itself, but also on the quality of subsequent
secondary sorting.
This is precisely why our next goal is to bring a sorting
line directly onto the festival site. In this respect, we are
already very close to a concrete solution, and I believe
that in 2027 it could become part of the festival
operations. This would allow us to work with waste
even more efficiently directly on site and move
the whole system one step further again.
Colours has a strategy called “Our Path
of Responsibility”. What does this mean in practice
when selecting the festival’s suppliers and partners?
“Our Path of Responsibility” is not a one-off project
or a current trend. It is a journey of more than twenty
years, during which we have gradually added further
steps towards a more responsible festival. At the same
time, we have realised that responsibility is not only
about the environment.
Our next goal is to bring a sorng line
directly into the fesval grounds.
By 2027, it could become part
of the fesval’s operaons.
Cup bins, the collecon of cigaree bus that can take een years to decompose,
and transporng arsts by electric vehicles and overland routes across Europe – how sustainable
is Colours of Ostrava, and what is it planning next? Execuve Director Petra Řezníčková responds.
Colours of Ostrava
500 Litres of Oil, Zero Plasc Confe
and Gas from Fesval Waste
| Text: Monika Ševčíková, foto: Eva Palkovičová, Filip Kůstka