Press Pack – Earthrise Camping

Last updated: March 2026

Earthrise Camping – An Overview Of Circular Economy Tent Hire

Earthrise Camping is the UK’s first donation-powered circular economy tent hire. Founded in September 2025 and based in Hertfordshire, Earthrise Camping accepts unwanted tents donated by the public, professionally refurbishes them and then hires them out with nationwide delivery from £7.50 per night. With a flat £20 refundable deposit, no cleaning fees and no additional damage charges, Earthrise Camping is the most affordable tent hire in the UK and the only one built entirely on donated and rescued stock. More information at earthrisecamping.co.uk.

Quick Facts

Founded:

September 2025

Founder:

Rob Porter

Location:

Flamstead, Hertfordshire UK

What We Do:

Circular economy tent hire, stocked with used secondhand tents and delivered across the UK

Pricing:

From £7.50 per night

Deposit:

£20 Refundable Deposit – Lowest of any tent hire in the UK

Cleaning Fees:

None – The only UK tent hire company with this policy

Additional Charges:

None beyond the deposit – unlike many other tent hires

Tents Rescued To Date:

Estimated CO2 saved:

840Kg vs buying new stock

Delivery:

Across the UK via UPS (door to door) and Evri (via parcelshops)

Website:

Earthrisecamping.co.uk

Contact:

[email protected]

Brand Reference Guide

Company name: Earthrise Camping (always two words, always capitalised)

Never: EarthRise, Earth Rise, Earthrise camping, Earthrise, EARTHRISE

Descriptor: The UK’s first donation-powered circular economy tent hire, dedicated to ending tent waste by rescuing, repairing, and renting used tents.

Tagline: Tent hire that doesn’t cost the earth

What we are: A circular economy tent hire service – tents are donated, refurbished, hired out, returned, cleaned and hired again.

What we are not: A traditional tent hire company (we don’t buy new stock), a peer-to-peer lending platform, or a festival site only service (we deliver direct to customers anywhere in the UK).

The Problem We Want To Solve

An estimated 250,000 tents are abandoned at UK festivals every year, generating approximately 900 tonnes of non-recyclable waste.

Tents account for 17% of total festival waste sent to landfill and up to 90% of abandoned tents end up in landfill or incineration, despite widespread belief that they are donated to charity.

The numbers behind the problem:

250,000 tents abandoned at UK festivals annually (Association of Independent Festivals)
52% of festival-goers see their tent as a single-use item (Less Waste)
39% of people who abandon tents believe they will be donated to charity (Festival Republic Survey – Circular Online)
90% of abandoned tents end up in landfill or incineration (Less Waste)

The tent hire market existed before Earthrise Camping, but it didn’t serve the people causing the problem.

Deposits of £100–200+, cleaning fees for muddy returns and extensive damage charges meant that hiring was more expensive and more risky than buying a cheap tent and walking away from it. For anyone on a budget; students, first-time festival-goers, occasional campers, the tent hire system offered no alternatives to cheap “disposable” tents.

How Our Circular Tent Hire Model Works

Earthrise Camping is a working, consumer-facing example of circular economy principles applied to the outdoor equipment sector. We operate at the top of the waste hierarchy, by extending the product life of unwanted equipment through reuse, repair and refurbishment.

Earthrise Camping operates a fully circular model across five stages:

Donate – Members of the public and businesses donate unwanted tents via our website. We arrange free collection nationwide.
Refurbish — Every donated tent is inspected, cleaned, repaired where needed and tested to ensure it is fully weatherproof and reliable. Only tents that pass our full assessment enter the hire fleet.
Hire — Customers book online and receive their tent by courier up to 24 hours before their trip starts, delivered anywhere in the UK.
Return — After the hire, the customer sends the tent back using the prepaid labels provided. The tent is cleaned and prepared for the next customer.
End of Life — When a tent eventually reaches the end of its usable lifespan, we dispose of it responsibly. Our intention is to recycle through approved facilities where available, though tent recycling infrastructure in the UK remains limited due to mixed material construction. We are actively researching end-of-life options as they develop.

Founder Bio

Robert Porter – Founder, Earthrise Camping

Rob is the founder of Earthrise Camping, the UK’s first circular tent hire built on unwanted, donated stock. Based in Hertfordshire, he came up with the model after hearing news on the radio about a retailer’s tent returns scheme to combat tent waste in April 2025. This piqued his interest, as he didn’t understand why people didn’t just hire tents instead. After some research, he discovered massive barriers in the traditional tent hire market, that turned people on a budget away from hiring to buying cheap single-use tents.

Earthrise Camping was built to change that equation. By sourcing tents through donations rather than purchasing new stock, the business keeps costs low enough to genuinely compete with the budget tent market, whilst keeping every tent in active use rather than sitting unwanted in storage or heading to landfill.

Rob built the business from scratch alongside a full-time job (and raising two young children), with no prior web design or professional outdoor industry experience. Every tent in the fleet has been personally assessed, cleaned and tested. The business launched in September 2025 and delivers nationwide.

Story Angles for Journalists

Circular economy in action — A real, consumer-facing example of the reuse model at the heart of the UK’s developing circular economy policy. A working case study for features on the Circular Economy Growth Plan, circularity in consumer goods, or the shift from linear to circular business models.
Festival waste and tent abandonment — 250,000 tents abandoned annually is one of the most dramatic festival sustainability statistics. Earthrise offers a direct, practical solution — a fresh angle beyond the usual “take your tent home” behavioural messaging.
Cost of living and budget camping — Tent hire from £7.50/night as a genuine alternative to buying disposable tents, aimed at the people priced out of both quality gear and traditional hire services.
Challenging an industry — How the traditional tent hire market’s pricing and T&Cs inadvertently created the disposable tent problem, and how one business redesigned the model from scratch.
Small business founder story — No professional outdoor industry background, no investors, no team, one person who heard a radio report, found a broken market and built the solution, all whilst working a full time job and raising two children in Hertfordshire.

Frequently Asked Questions (For Journalists)

Is Earthrise Camping the first circular tent hire in the UK?

Earthrise Camping is the UK’s first circular tent hire that delivers direct to customers nationwide. Other circular camping services existed before us, however they operate at festival sites rather than delivering to customers’ homes.

Where do the tents come from?

Every tent in the fleet is pre-owned. We source them primarily through public donations, however we have engaged with UK outdoor brands for second-hand stock such as customer returns or end-of-line items, and occasional private purchases from resale platforms. We never buy new stock. Donations are collected free of charge from anywhere in the UK.

How do you keep prices so low?

Because our tents are second-hand rather than purchased new, our stock costs are minimal. This lets us pass the saving on to customers, lower the refundable deposit to a flat £20 rate and genuinely compete with the price of buying a budget tent.

How is Earthrise Camping funded?

Self-funded by the founder. No external investment, no grants. All revenue generated comes from hire fees.

How big is the operation?

A one man (and dog) operation, run from Hertfordshire alongside a full-time job and raising a young family. Every tent acquisition and rental is handled by Rob, the founder, in his spare time.

What’s the CO2 methodology?

We estimate 30Kg CO2 saved per tent vs new manufacture, based on the midpoint of a 10–50Kg lifecycle range covering production, transportation and disposal (source: Arbor.eco). Our hire delivery and return logistics offset a small portion of this saving.

Media Coverage

Earthrise Camping was launched in September 2025. This section will be updated as press coverage is secured. If you are the first to cover us, we’d love to work with you on an exclusive.

Media Contact and Assets

Rob Porter, Founder — Earthrise Camping

Email: [email protected]
Website: Earthrisecamping.co.uk
Instagram: @earthrisecamping
Facebook: facebook.com/61579763195902

Available for:
Phone, video or email interview
Written comment or quote on request
Expert commentary on tent waste, circular economy, festival sustainability, small business

Assets available on request:
Product photography (tent fleet, refurbishment process)
Founder headshot
Logo files (PNG, SVG)

Response time: We aim to respond to all media enquiries within 24 hours. For urgent requests, please note “DEADLINE” in the subject line.

This press pack is maintained by Earthrise Camping. For the most current information, visit earthrisecamping.co.uk or contact [email protected].