Flushable toilets, clean grounds keep festival goers happy at Lollapalooza

Lollapalooza, often described by concert fanatics as one of the cleanest and most accessible festivals, received high ratings yet again Friday.

With bathrooms set up in close proximity to each of the eight stages sprawled across Grant Park, attendees said they encountered short or no lines. And, echoing praises from last year’s fans, many found themselves impressed by the flushable toilets that are offered in addition to regular Porta Potties.

Caitlyn Lowden, a 22-year-old from New York, said compared to her first Lollapalooza three years ago, the bathrooms are “much nicer now.”

“And there are more of them, so I have yet to run into a line for a bathroom,” Lowden said. “It’s difficult because it’s such a large festival, and I think they’ve done well in terms of the capacity.”

She added that large signposts with bathroom and water symbols have been useful in helping her navigate the park.

The festival’s mobile app has also come in handy for Lolla newcomers. Erica Mattingly, from Kentucky, said it has been “super easy” to have her phone tell her where the nearest bathrooms are.

“I figured it would be worse conditions,” Mattingly said. “I didn’t think the toilets would flush, and there are quite a few bathrooms, so there’s usually no wait. … I kinda expected to hold it as much as I possibly could.”

In addition to the flushable toilets, Lolla offers urinals that have significantly cut down on wait times. In the words of veteran Blake Landa, they “changed the game” — and others seem to agree that Lolla outdoes many other big-name festivals.

Kennedy Smith said the flushable toilets have “made a huge difference” throughout her five years attending Lolla. When they were first introduced, they were mostly near the southern Perry’s Stage but are now more spread out.

Beyond bathrooms, Lolla has maintained a clean, accessible atmosphere throughout the 300-acre park. The festival, for instance, offers free t-shirt rewards to attendees who can collect a full bag of trash.

“It’s very accessible to get from one place to the other, and it is very clean,” Smith said. “They always have the people walking around with bags and picking up trash. There’s trash bins everywhere.”

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