The Brief: Our guide to sustainable packaging at events

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Key takeaways:

• Current infrastructure and schemes include Diageo’s trial of paper-based packagingfor Baileys’ Original Irish Cream Liqueur, designed for recycling in standard paper streams, and eGreen’s cups cups made from 100% renewable resources for the UK market. My Festival Cup, Event Cup and Stack Cup all design reusable cups for festivals and events.
• Return schemes: Reuse agency Upstream’s report on the LCA of reusable and single use cups saw reusable stainless steel and polypropylene cups “dramatically outperform[ing] single-use cup options across all environmental metrics” and suggested venues and events companies create their own reusable cup systems; license 3^rd party systems or hire reuse companies.
• Recycling and waste reduction at events – a LinkedIn article on this subject discussed choosing a ‘green’ venue, using reusable or biodegradable cups, plates and cutlery and educating and engaging attendees.

Conclusion:

Finally, this year’s Download Festival in the UK provided water refill stations, reusable bottles available for purchase onsite and dedicated can recycling points in the ‘village’ area. The event implemented several incentives for attendees such as a recycling reward scheme offering prizes for campsite recycling; the site-wide three-bin system for the separation of recyclable, non-recyclable and compostable waste; and a DRS on cups and water bottles in the ‘arena’ area.

Summer has arrived! And to many people, that means attending festivals, sports events, and concerts. In this edition of the Brief, we look at packaging reuse and recycling in this context – what infrastructure is available, how widespread are deposit return schemes, and how do sorting systems work?

To start with, in 2022 Coca-Cola Middle East launched 100% recycled PET bottles for Coca-Cola beverages across official FIFA World Cup 2022 venues in Qatar, such as stadiums and fan zones. Dedicated recycling bins were reportedly in place across the venues, with on-ground and on-screen communication to educate volunteers and fans on responsible recycling, aiming to ensure recyclable plastic waste was placed in the right bins for repurposing.

Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) stated that the bottles separated and collected during the tournament would be recycled and converted into rPET bottles in-country.

In the same year, independent packaging group Koninklijke Paardekooper announced it had acquired a stake in CircularPET, producers of circular soft cup systems for public events, to ensure the recycling of plastic at events in response to the European Commission’s Single Use Plastic Directive (SUPD).

Apparently, the recycling process was expected to be overseen by a professional team at event site, who monitored the number of cups recycled and report it back to the organiser. CircularPET would then process the results and present them in the form of a certificate.

2023 saw both Wimbledon and the Rugby World Cup implementing incentives to encourage customers and fans to use reusable cups in an effort to reduce waste. Barclays and CLUBZERØ partnered to serve customers free juice in reusable cups as they waited to enter the Wimbledon Grounds, with the solution expected to halve CO2 emissions and result in zero waste. CLUBZERØ planned to serve the drinks in a line of cold beverage cups which would be returned, washed and redistributed throughout the event.

Berry Global, InfinyCup, and Stratus teamed up to serve beverages in the reusable plastic SuperCups at the Rugby World Cup, aligning with France’s ban on single-use plastic cups.

The cups are made from recyclable polypropylene and are apparently 30% lighter than standard reusable plastic beer cups on the market. They are also said to be dishwasher-safe and have an inner stacking rim which allows for several SuperCups to be stacked together.

This year has seen recyclable bottles and renewable cups trialled and designed for events. Diageo trialled paper-based packaging for Baileys’ Original Irish Cream Liqueur, designed for recycling in standard paper streams. The Dry Molded Fiber bottle is apparently made of 90% paper with a thin plastic liner and foil seal.

Diageo states the bottle’s design does not require the consumer to separate the plastic liner from the paper bottle during disposal. The 2,000-bottle consumer trial was held using bottles of Baileys’ Original Irish Cream Liqueur in mini format (80ml) at Time Out Festival in Barcelona, Spain, from 25th – 26th May.

In June, eGreen claimed it was the first company to bring cups made from 100% renewable resources to the UK market. Switching production from virgin fossil fuels to a biobased polypropylene, the new VeriGreen range is primarily sourced from recycled plant oil used in the hospitality industry.

The cups are said to have benefits over paper cups due to being made from a mono-material, making collection and recycling easier. eGreen stated that the transparent design hopes to make serving drinks such as beer and cider easier for operators, ensuring the correct measure is poured and the consumer is receiving a full pint - particularly in busy settings such as festival and events bars, where there is often pressure to serve quickly.

The cups reportedly have ‘Self-Destruct’ technology – if the cups escape collection and recycling and are left in the open air, the company says they will break down into an ‘earth friendly wax’ that fully biodegrades within 2 years, leaving no trace of microplastics or toxins.

There are also companies such as My Festival Cup, Event Cup and Stack Cup which design reusable cups for festivals and events, including weddings, sports matches and local community events. My Festival Cup states its festival cup products have full CE certification and are dishwasher safe. Its plastic Arena cups are reportedly made from the Festival Cups using food-grade material, but made in solid colours.

Event Cup has a rental option for its cups, ranging from 18cl capacity to a 1.5l pitcher. According to the company website, once the reusable cups are ordered and a deposit placed, they are shipped in plastic boxes on the scheduled date, in a parcel relay or to the event site, with return labels attached to the dismissal.

When the event is over, the cups are returned in their original boxes with the return labels. The cups are checked the deposit returned (minus any missing cup costs). Cups which are no longer reusable are recycled into plastic pellets for the ‘manufacture of everyday objects’.

Reuse agency Upstream – which aims to help businesses and communities shift from single-use to reuse in the USA and Canada - commissioned a report on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of reusable and single use cups, which was conducted by researchers at the University of St Thomas.

Upstream stated that despite the introduction of solutions such as bioplastic cups and single-use aluminium, for the sports, entertainment and live events industry, until now there has been “no clear scientific consensus as to which options have the greatest environmental impact and which options have the least”.

The main findings of the report include reusable stainless steel and polypropylene cups “dramatically outperform[ing]” the single-use cup options across all environmental metrics”. Upstream highlights the following statistic:

“The average stadium that hosts 300 events annually uses 5.4 million single-use cups – creating a whopping 63.75 tons of plastic waste. If these were replaced with reusable polypropylene (PP) cups used 300 times and then discarded, that would generate less than one ton of waste.”

However, the report also states that if single-use cups are being used, PET and PLA cups are better options for the climate. Single-use aluminum cups are apparently the worst option, said to use 47% more energy over their life-cycle and create 86% more carbon dioxide than other single-use plastic options.

The main recommendations of the report are that venues and events companies should start shifting away from all single-use cups, not just single-use plastic. The suggestion is for venues and events companies to create their own reusable cup systems; license 3^rd party systems; or hire reuse companies to provide the service for them.

It maintains that there are ways to save and make money from deploying reusable cup systems, including savings on disposable procurement, waste management costs, clean-up and litter; and opportunities for brand partnerships and loyalty, tech integration, special offers and customer use data.

In the UK, workplace recycling regulations can apply for outdoor events and festival organisers. For example, the Welsh government’s guidelines, designed for indoor and outdoor event organisers, suggest labelling recycling bins to avoid contamination and prevent water from becoming contaminated by stored waste.

It also recommends encouraging caterers/vendors to provide refillable cups or glasses, set up a deposit and return scheme for reusable drinks containers, or encourage attendees to bring their own cups offering a discount for drinks.

It also highlights communicating the event’s recycling services to visitors in the promotional and pre-event information, which can also be included in any social media messaging and information available during the event online or on digital display boards.

After the event, the guidelines recommend organisers ask the waste and recycling collector for information on how much waste was produced and recycled, and utilize the findings to review how to increase recycling at future events and consider setting waste reduction targets.

In a LinkedIn article discussing how to reduce waste and recycle at events, the first point was choosing a ‘green’ venue – this is defined as venues with green certifications, policies, and practices, such as energy efficiency, water conservation, waste management, and carbon offsetting. It also suggested asking about the recycling and composting options.

Reducing paper and plastic use was another point of discussion – using reusable or biodegradable cups, plates and cutlery and opting for reusable or recyclable alternatives to plastic bags, bottles and straws. Donating or reusing excess materials was another suggestion, such as decorations, banners and signs.

Finally, the article highlighted the importance of educating and engaging attendees, using various communication methods throughout the event and providing incentives for those who participate in recycling, composting or carpooling.

From my personal experience volunteering at this year’s Download Festival in the UK, volunteers were encouraged to bring their own reusable hot or cold drinks bottles, and water refill stations were available throughout the festival grounds. The ‘village’ area of the festival had dedicated recycling points for cans. According to the website, visitors and artists are also encouraged to use reusable bottles, which are available for purchase onsite.

Under its charter, the festival states it is committed to implementing closed-loop waste management systems and following the waste hierarchy set out in the Waste Regulations 2011, consisting of waste reduction, reuse, recycling, energy recovery and disposal. For plastic reduction, no virgin single-use plastic is provided – this apparently includes containers, cutlery, cups, bottles, stirrers and straws.

Download states its sourcing policy prioritises reuse over single-use and products with “the highest recycled content available, including at least 30% where alternatives are not available”. All bottled water sold at the festival contains a minimum of 30% recycled content in line with the UK Plastic Pact.

The festival claims to be zero waste to landfill:

“All festival waste is either recycled, composted, or used to generate energy from waste. We aim to reduce the amount of waste sent to incineration by 90% by 2030.”

The event implements several incentives to encourage attendees towards reuse and recycling, such as a recycling reward scheme offering prizes for recycling in the campsites; the site-wide three-bin system for the separation of recyclable, non-recyclable and compostable waste; and a DRS on cups and water bottles in the ‘arena’ area.

When it comes to reducing environmental impact around events and festivals, not-for-profit company A Greener Future offers training, carbon footprint and Net Zero strategy, assessment and certification services. It aims to facilitate a more sustainable ecosystem for events worldwide.

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