Case Studies

Impact in Action

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Music & Arts Festivals

Keeping Electric Picnic Pristine – From Build to Breakdown

Electric Picnic is Ireland’s flagship three-day music and arts festival, held annually in Stradbally, County Laois. With attendance reaching 80,000 festival-goers each September, the event spans multiple stages, campsites, food villages and community zones across a four-week site timeline—two weeks of build, three days of live festival and a week of teardown. Ryans Cleaning partners with festival organisers from the initial site infrastructure phase through final clearance, tasked with creating a clean, safe and welcoming environment for attendees, performers and the local community. As the first to arrive and last to leave, our teams mobilise weeks before build and remain on-site until the final breakdown.

Challenges

  • Extended Event Footprint: Covering over 500 acres when including build and teardown zones, with distinct requirements for greenfield campsites, hospitality areas and public thoroughfares.
  • Phased Operations: Cleaning needs vary dramatically from the build phase (site preparation), through live events (high footfall and waste output), to post-event clearance and restoration of the site.
  • High Bin Volumes: Deployment and management of over 1,500 bins and skips across the site, requiring careful planning to avoid collection bottlenecks.
  • Local Community Integration: Extending cleaning operations into Stradbally town centre to support local businesses and residents, ensuring festival activities do not negatively impact the surrounding area.
  • Sustainability Goals: Meeting festival targets for recycling and waste reduction, including a 60% diversion rate away from landfill and strict compliance with local authority environmental regulations.

Solution

  • Phased Workforce Deployment: Ryans Cleaning mobilises an initial core crew of 100 staff during the two-week build, ramping up to 400 operatives across site cleaning, waste management and public area maintenance for the three festival days, then maintaining a 150-person teardown team.
  • Strategic Waste Infrastructure: Bins and skips were positioned according to footfall heat maps, with 1,500+ units managed daily. Dedicated recycling and compost stations, clearly signposted, encouraged proper disposal by attendees.
  • Mobile Cleaning Hubs: Six mobile units equipped with pressure washers, litter pickers, and eco-friendly cleaning solutions circulated continuously, providing rapid response to litter hotspots, food-truck spillages and restroom restocking.
  • Community Collaboration: Coordinated rubbish collections in town centres, using smaller collection teams to clear streets and public areas each morning, ensuring Stradbally residents saw minimal festival-related litter.
  • Sustainability Protocols: Biodegradable detergents, recycled-content cleaning materials and on-site composting bins supported environmental objectives. Regular reporting to festival organisers tracked recycling rates and waste volumes in real time through a digital dashboard.

Overview

Location

Stradbally, Laois, Ireland

Attendees

80,000 annually

Main Challenge

Four-week build-to-teardown coverage across 500 acres

Key Service

Phased workforce and strategic waste infrastructure

Specialised Task

Community-area cleaning and sustainability compliance

See Also

Hyde Park - BST Festival

Music & Arts Festivals

Latitude Festival

Music & Arts Festivals

Results:

Over the full four-week operation, Ryans Cleaning processed 50 tonnes of waste, achieved a 60% recycling and composting rate, and completed 500+ mobile hub interventions to keep pathways and common areas clear. Post-festival environmental audits reported zero non-compliance issues, and local council feedback praised the prompt morning cleanup in Stradbally town. Attendee surveys indicated an 80% satisfaction rating with site cleanliness and amenities.

80,000

attendees

1,500+

bins managed

50

tonnes of waste

TESTIMONIALs

Client Experiences and Feedback

Ryans Cleaning have been our cleaning partner for over twenty years and we have always had an open and honest relationship which has been key to our very successful partnership. Ryans have consistently delivered a great service and have also been extremely flexible with regard to our changing circumstances. This has meant changes and adjustments to contract terms which have been discussed and agreed in a positive and understanding manner. I am particularly pleased that the senior management team are always available and approachable.

The team on the ground are adaptable and achieve a very high standard but are also flexible to our needs and those of our customers. As Galway Races is such a large festival with huge attendances it is very important that a thorough job is completed so it is great to have Ryans Cleaning as our partner to ensure these standards are met. I have no hesitation in recommending Ryans, as they have, as proven by the length of time they have been with us, consistently delivered a very high standard of work and professionalism.

Michael Moloney

Chief Executive, Galway Racecourse

Conclusion & Key Takeaways

Electric Picnic demonstrates the importance of phased planning, mobile cleaning infrastructure and community engagement for large-scale, multi-phase events.

Ryans Cleaning’s scalable crew deployment, strategic waste placement and sustainable practices ensure the festival site and surrounding community remain pristine—year after year.

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