Reuse is a core tenant of the circular economy and much better than recycling, at least in theory. As a result reusable products, like cups, have become a popular solution in the push for sustainability—but they are only effective if they are reused again and again. If not, they can have a higher carbon footprint and generate more waste than the disposable products they were meant to replace. This is because reusable products require significantly more material and thus energy (carbon) to manufacture.
This challenge is particularly pronounced in the events industry, where many festivals and venues have switched to reusable cups but experience low return rates. As a result, they often end up having a worse environmental impact than if they had stuck with single-use disposables. This is not great news for an industry trying to go green.
Certain venues, such as theatres and cinemas, find it easier to maintain high (90%+) return rates for reusable products. However, outdoor events, football stadiums, and concerts struggle to achieve these rates. The issue is compounded by the practice of encouraging branded reusable cups as souvenirs, which leads to high losses and undermines the entire purpose of reuse.
When attendees take cups home as keepsakes, the event must replace them with new ones—effectively turning reusable cups into single-use products with a much higher environmental cost. While attendees might reuse these cups at home, this offers no benefit to the event’s sustainability goals. Also they will already have cups at home, they do not need these, so it has no eco benefit there either.
Reusable cup companies have often encouraged this practice to boost their cup sales, but we believe this is highly irresponsible. The industry must redesign business models to align with the true goals of reuse.
Unfortunately years of single use packaging has influenced behaviour so much so that a lot of people simply do not think twice about littering packaging on the ground. From my perspective this is less a problem of character (‘bad people’) and more a problem of bad disposable packaging and wasteful systems having trained people to act in this way.
So events and venues need to use a deposit system to incentivise return and penalise littering of reusables. This carrot and stick approach helps break visitors out of the disposable mindset where packaging is worthless to them and therefore does not get a second thought. But here lies the next problem…
Current Deposit Systems Suck
Bar operators don’t like them, as they want to sell drinks not handle cup returns, and attendees don’t like them either as they are being charged a fee and its very inconvenient to return the cups.
At lots of events its not really a deposit and simply a cup charge/levy as consumers can’t get the money back, they just don’t have to pay any more if they bring their cup back to the bar for their next drink. Alongside not being very fair to shift the cost to the attendee, it also rarely works. If you can only use the cup to avoid a charge on your next drink then you must hold onto your empty cup until you are ready for another drink, which sucks as you’ve got to look after a cup for the entire event. And at the end of the event you have no incentive to return the cup as you aren’t buying any more drinks so everyone drops their last cup.
In some cases it is actually a deposit, so you can get money back, but this still has its own problems. To get the cash back you must return to the bar with your empty cup, the same bar people are queuing to buy drinks from… So when you finish your drink you either have to join a queue or hold onto your empty cup until your next drink. Also when anyone can get cash-back for a cup people are incentivised to steal other peoples cups and return them for cash. People like to picture young children collecting the cups to get some money, but at large events you can get organised crime groups becoming the cup mafia to cash in on the large amount of deposit cash.
The result? Even with deposit schemes events still get low return rates and reusable cups are left all over the floor creating the same sea of plastic litter they were meant to replace.
The result? Even with deposit schemes events still get low return rates and reusable cups are left all over the floor creating the same sea of plastic litter they were meant to replace.
Reusable cups are often four to seven times heavier than their disposable counterparts, therefore requiring four to seven times as much material and energy to produce. This means a reusable cup must be used at least seven times to break even with a single-use cup in terms of carbon impact—and up to 14 times to offer significant environmental benefits.
This target is achievable, but only with well-designed systems that focus on maximising return rates. An 80% return rate, while seemingly high, results in each cup being reused only about five times before it is lost or discarded. To make reuse systems environmentally effective, return rates need to exceed 90%.
Despite these hurdles, we know that making reuse work is vital for the circular economy and the future of our planet. At Rubbish Ideas, we are committed to overcoming this challenge through innovation and data-driven solutions.
Our platform, The Rubbish Portal, is designed to accurately measure the impact of reusable products and compare it to single-use alternatives. This allows event organisers to see how well their reuse systems are performing and make data-informed improvements.
The Rubbish Portal tracks key metrics such as:
These insights help us calculate a crucial metric we call projected reuses—the number of times a cup is likely to be reused. Ideally, reusable cups need a projected reuse value of over seven to match the impact of single-use items. This metric helps event organisers monitor the effectiveness of their reuse scheme over time and make targeted improvements.
For example, removing stylish branding often results in fewer cups being taken away, thus increasing projected reuses and improving the system’s overall performance.
We’ve been developing a new generation of smart reusable packaging embedded with RFID technology. These products integrate with smart infrastructure and deposit software to make reuse systems more convenient for both consumers and bar operators.
Our smart system allows venues to charge a deposit that is linked to the cup itself. Consumers can return cups by placing them in designated return bins instead of having to go back to the bar, which mimics the convenience of disposable systems. This not only improves the user experience but also alleviates pressure on bar staff—especially at stadiums during high-traffic periods like the end of a football match.
By simplifying the return process, we aim to significantly increase return rates and ensure that reusables achieve their full sustainability potential.
We are collaborating with partners to launch this scheme at venues across the UK. Together, we are working to make smart reuse systems the norm and drive the circular economy forward.
The future of sustainability in events lies in well-managed reuse systems. This requires collaboration, innovation, and a focus on both data and convenience. With platforms like The Rubbish Portal and smart reusable infrastructure, we are building the tools and systems needed to track, optimise, and scale reuse.
However, the responsibility doesn’t lie solely with technology providers. Event organisers, venues, and reusable product companies must commit to long-term solutions that prioritise high return rates and sustainable practices. With these measures in place, reuse can fulfil its promise as a cornerstone of the circular economy—delivering real environmental benefits that go beyond surface-level greenwashing.
The future is reusable! Get in touch if you’d like to join the reuse revolution.
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