Article 3: Clear Up
Who knew A Flock Of Seagulls were on the line-up? Hundreds of birds move into the litter-covered Glastonbury site as festival-goers stagger home and the great £785,000 clean-up gets underway
- Pictures showed the famous Worthy Farm fields strewn with rubbish as weary revellers made their way home
- Glastonbury is due to take a 'fallow year' in 2018, a break that occurs every six years to allow land to recover
- 800 litter pickers are scouring 900-acre grounds to fill 500,000 sacks of litter as part of £785,000 clean-up
- The volunteers will also collect 57 tons of reusable items and 1,022 tons of recycling over the next six weeks
Glastonbury's £785,000 clean-up began in earnest this morning as the last of the festival's 200,000 music fans staggered home having watched Ed Sheeran bring the event to a close on Sunday night.
Pictures today showed the Worthy Farm fields strewn with rubbish while bleary-eyed revellers were seen making their way out of the Somerset venue as volunteers with rubbish bags moved in.
But they weren't the only ones, with seagulls also seen fighting over food scraps left in front of the famous Pyramid Stage.
The festival is due to take a 'fallow year' in 2018, a break that occurs every six years to allow the land to recover, although founder Michael Eavis suggested he would revoke that plan if a certain band agreed to perform.
He said that he is 'already regretting' the decision to take a year out and, while he didn't reveal who the band is that could change his mind, he did add: 'It's not One Direction.'
This morning some 800 litter pickers were scouring the 900-acre grounds as campers headed home. After five days of partying, festival goers are estimated to have left behind some 57 tons of reusable items, 1,022 tons of recycling and a staggering 500,000 sacks of litter.
The event has been the most political in its history, with Mr Corbyn addressing tens of thousands of revellers from the iconic main Pyramid Stage and giving a talk at the Left Field tent.
Artists, revellers and festival organisers have spoken in support of the Islington North MP - with the chant 'Oh, Jeremy Corbyn' to the tune of the White Stripes' Seven Nation Army becoming the unofficial anthem of the festival.
Organisers have asked attendees to take their tents with them, with posters around the venue reading: 'Love the farm, leave no trace' and a heavy emphasis on recycling throughout.
The 514 food vendors on site had only been allowed to provide compostable plates, cups and cutlery, while glass was banned across the festival.
A litter picking crew of up to 800 began to clear the huge area of rubbish on Monday morning, with tractors carrying magnetic strips travelling across the fields.
Workers will also carry out a fingertip search to make sure no inch of the land goes unchecked.
The mission to convert the site back into a functioning dairy farm could take up to six weeks.
Last year, the operation was made harder thanks to heavy rain that caused a huge amount of mud - with revellers abandoning their belongings as they struggled out.
Sheeran, 26, who had admitted to battling the nerves as he stepped out on the Pyramid Stage, last night wrapped up the festival by showing off his guitar skills in a performance of You Need Me, I Don't Need You to a huge crowd.
He thanked Glastonbury for having him and said of headlining: 'I would like to say it was a dream of mine.
'But I never thought I would even get to the point where I was playing this stage, let alone headlining it.'
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