If you leave your tent at Bonnaroo, it could go on all sorts of adventures without you.

It could end up with a Boy Scout troop that couldn't afford camping equipment or be given to a low-income family in search of wilderness adventure.

It may even end up all the way in St. Lucia as a mosquito shelter for island kids.

From the abandoned tents to all the leftover food, Bonnaroo has a lot of extras left after the four-day music festival ends. Where does it all go? To good causes, of course.

Over the years, Bonnaroo has developed relationships with several local nonprofits — from the Grundy County Food Bank to the Chattanooga's Gear Closet — as a way to turn music into purpose.

So whether it's an abandoned sleeping bag, sweatshirt or pop-up tent, chances are it will find a second home.

"It really shows if you give someone an opportunity to do something good, they will do it," said Mollie Herman, asset recovery manager for Clean Vibes at Bonnaroo (among many other things). "It’s been absolutely remarkable, the contributions."

Serendipity for good

So how did this partnership for good all come about?

"It was definitely serendipity," Herman said.

Just as Bonnaroo was starting to really focus efforts on all the stuff left behind, an email arrived from a woman named Mary Beth Sutton.

She is executive director of a Tennessee-based nonprofit called WaterWays, which focuses on clean-water programs and education in both Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the Caribbean. One of their biggest fundraising sources is The Gear Closet, which buys and sells new and gently used outdoor gear.

Sutton was hoping to partner with Bonnaroo to collect gear and support WaterWays' efforts. The music festival was all in.

"It was wonderful to be matched with someone so proactive in the process and who saw the long-term value and its potential," Herman said.

Now, Sutton's team comes out the Monday after the festival ends and combs the vast campgrounds for anything that can be repurposed.

They collect towels, shoes, clothing, bug spray, sunscreen, grills, pans and much more. Then they load it into a trailer donated by U.S. Express and truck it to Chattanooga.

To expand the efforts, Bonnaroo has put green bags out in the campgrounds were people can proactively place items they no longer want. And, so far, so good. No one has puked in them, Herman jokes. The bins remain relatively clean. And hundreds of items are left for a second life with someone else in need.

"There's a bunch of kids in Georgia in mushroom tents," Herman said with a laugh.

What isn't given to the Gear Closet may end up in the Chattanooga Community Kitchen (like all the discarded kitchenware) or Tennessee homeless programs that welcome items like sleeping bags and tarps. Coolers are also a popular item, Herman said.

"It's nice when they are empty," Herman said with a smile.

Herman gives a big thanks all the Bonnaroovians who donated items this weekend and in the past.

"Your tent is definitely being passed on," Herman said. "You are paying it forward."

Feeding the needy

And what about all that food?

Bonnaroo is big into conservation and being good to Mother Earth.

It was around 2006 that Bonnaroo staff started really taking notice of all the stuff left behind at Bonnaroo.

At first, it was maybe a random bag of potatoes left unfried. Herman would grab the food and find someone in need to give it to.

Pretty soon it became obvious that something greater could — and should — be done.

Bonnaroo focused on reducing food waste and directing leftovers to organizations who could get it to the homeless and needy in the area.

Today, bins across the ground have options for recycle, compost or landfill. Vendors know ahead of time that if there’s any leftover food they don’t want to take with them, they can donate it. It is collected as vendors load out on Sunday night and Monday morning.

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They get mainly the non-perishable things, like leftover canned goods, as well as some fruits and vegetables. On average, they collect 25,000 to 30,000 pounds of food.

Because there is so much, in years past they have distributed it not only to two hundred food-bank families but also to Haven to Rest nursing home, two civic centers and the Grundy County Jail.

All the food vendors on the festival grounds also have compost stations behind their booths to fill and be collected. The compost is used on site for various dirt-related projects like filling holes or mulching the learning garden in Planet Roo.

So next year when you return to Bonnaroo, look around and think about what good your leftovers have grown.

Reach Jessica Bliss at 615-259-8253 and jbliss@tennessean.com or on Twitter @jlbliss and please support local journalism.