Making music festivals Plastic-Free from the Rio Grande
By Christa Chagra, Inland Ocean Ambassador
When I heard about the Inland Ocean Coalition’s Festival Blitz opportunity, my hand shot straight up to volunteer!
What? A music festival and an opportunity to contribute? Who could say no?
Based in Pagosa Springs, I was interested in helping out in my region in Southern Colorado for the weekend at Rhythms on the Rio. And knowing it was on the same weekend as my husband’s birthday, I excitedly signed us up to work!
But as the date loomed closer, I was worried that I had signed my husband up to do some trash and recycling sorting – mucking through dumpsters full of garbage… I was concerned, as we’ve had a bit of a rough summer working on home improvement projects and I had no desire to make him do more physical labor on his birthday weekend.
Luckily, when I met with Haley for the run-down, I was informed that our work was instead to do trash and recycling analysis, and to even interview some vendors and record trash and recycling protocols.
Wait, what?
Go to the festival, listen to fabulous music, interact with fun people, play on the river, and then just do the stuff I would normally do? Heck yeah! I ALWAYS take inventory of trash/recycling protocols EVERYWHERE I go.
Tracking this information was important to the team at IOC, so they can gather the data and from different festivals and create a guide that helps event organizers make their music festivals more plastic-free!
The new element of this for me was the interviews. I don’t normally interview vendors about their ‘to-go’ ware, but that was an added bonus in my opinion and I just might keep that up on my own. With my credentials as an Inland Ocean Ambassador, I found people really very excited to speak with me, and excited to learn about how to get involved in making a difference for the planet, all the way to the ocean.
Photo by Christa Chagra
Personally, I am always interested in why vendors choose the products they do for their food and beverages, and if there are ways that we can make choosing better options easier for them. Through the business I run, AnthroEvolve Coop, we make a point of highlighting more ethical, sustainable options for consumer goods. Individual choices matter! And targeting those choices as they are made further upstream can do even more to make more sustainable practices the norm.
All in all, we had an absolute blast enjoying the music and wandering around looking at the trash receptacles – or lack thereof. Having to report our findings offers a sense of higher purpose and really enhances the experience, in my personal opinion.
I would highly recommend that if you have an opportunity to experience a FestivalBlitz with the Inland Ocean Coalition that you don’t pass it up!
We are grateful for Christa’s volunteering at this festival and looking forward to bringing more Inland Ocean Ambassadors along for festival fun and TrashBlitzing as we head into early fall! Check out the video below with footage from Christa’s experience at Rhythms on the Rio.
Christa Chagra is the Founder of AnthroEvolve Coop, a marketplace for sustainable items and a cooperative – where all can benefit from making better choices! Christa is an ethical consumer researcher and marketplace founder focused on practical, evidence-based bathroom and kitchen swaps. Her work examines everyday products — from toilet paper to toothpaste — through the lens of human health, environmental impact, and ethical sourcing, translating complex research into clear consumer guidance. Christ graduated the Inland Ocean Ambassador training program in Spring 2026.
