Meet the volunteers and repair heroes showing the socially conscious side of Leeds Festival 2026

While headline acts and late-night DJ sets dominate the spotlight at Leeds Festival 2026, a growing movement of eco-minded volunteers is highlighting the quieter, more socially conscious side of Bramham Park.

Working tirelessly across the campsites, local community groups are tackling festival waste head-on - from salvaging broken camping gear to sorting hundreds of bags of recycling.

In the campsite hub, volunteers from the Repair Café Leeds network have set up shop to ensure damaged gear doesn't end up in landfill.

Offering free repairs to festivalgoers, volunteers Watt Treloar and Ian Dickinson have spent the weekend tackling everything from torn tent canvas and jammed rucksack zips to leaky airbeds and snapped tent poles.

"We open up a space for people to bring things that are broken," explained Watt. "The idea is you can bring something in, it doesn't go into landfill, and you go away happy."

He added with a laugh: "We might also completely destroy them, so there's always a risk!"

The initiative isn't just a single local project, but a wider collaboration bringing together community networks from across Leeds. By Friday afternoon alone, the team had logged 39 separate fixes.

"Yesterday it tended to be tent poles because visitors were putting their tents up for the first time," said Ian. "Then it rained, so we got lots of leak repairs! Today it's mainly been the inflatable stuff—if people have been sleeping on an airbed all night and found a puncture, they're bringing it along."

Not every job is straightforward, however. "For me, yesterday's toughest fix was a pair of wellie boots," Ian admitted. "They didn't take the glue or anything we put on, so we had to improvise just to get her far enough back to put a trainer on."

Hundreds of bags saved from landfill

Meanwhile, volunteers from Litter Free Leeds are patrolling the grounds to separate recyclable materials and keep the fields clear.

Volunteer Angela Gaunt praised the positive atmosphere among campers, revealing that just three volunteers in her group managed to collect 20 full bags of waste in a single stint.

"We're here collecting as much rubbish and recyclables as we can," Angela said. "We separate aluminium cans out so we can raise money for another charity. Bags-wise, I'd think it will go into hundreds over the weekend."

When asked what they were picking up most, Angela noted a mix of food waste, general rubbish, and cans, but reassured that there was "nothing too horrific."

Addressing common stereotypes surrounding festival waste, Angela added: "You hear lots of negative stories, but it's great, love it! If you've got rubbish, there are recycling hubs all around the campsites - please just put it all in a bag.

“It makes our life a lot easier!"