Game Over for Plastic Cups?

Summer sport in the UK is in full flow; a new Era began at Wimbledon, the natural order resumed during the Ashes (thanks to some precipitation, it must be said) and the Premier League return is imminent. But perhaps better than getting sweaty yourself, is watching the drama unfold with a cold beverage in hand. As my Old man and I did a couple of years ago as we watched the Ashes at Lords with two plastic cups. On this fine, British, Summer's day, we pondered: ‘Single-use cups … still? In 2021?’ We both thought single-use plastic is a problem of the past, and it led us to think, surely there must be a better alternative.

Waste at sports alone is…everywhere!

As stadiums get larger, the waste produced at events will only increase. Last season an estimated six million single-use cups were used in the premier league alone. Further afield, organisers at the 2022 Superbowl calculated that the average NFL game creates over 36 tonnes of waste, predominately plastic cups, despite their known environmental impact. Sticking with the example of the NFL and presuming that an average-sized attendance of around 65,000 all use one cup each, the waste from cups alone covers over 2 football pitches, with this figure increasing to over 40 pitches a season, per team! And this is just in sports; many stadia around the world are multipurpose and thus the figure of waste produced at each stadium rises much, much further.

Not the biggest problem?

Now, when you think of the ‘environmental crisis’ plastic cup waste is probably not the most important issue and its impact likely pales into insignificance compared to the carbon footprint of the wealthiest 1% of companies or the aviation industry. Plus, you’ve got to get your pint somehow. And I agree, but then many environmental issues pale into insignificance given only 100 companies are responsible for 71% of the world’s global greenhouse gas emissions.

But given plastic pollution on land and in the oceans has been one of the primary points of the climate debate in recent years, it’s unsurprising that plastic waste has a significant impact. From the cutest animals trapped in plastic bags to the toxins in microplastics in the water we drink and everywhere in between, it seems a needless issue to have. Plus, given the world's technological advancement in 2023, does the idea of single-use plastic not seem really outdated? Was this not an issue of 2018? An almost infant environmental issue. The point is, surely there must be some easy solutions.

Reusable revolution

Well, I suppose there has been: the rise of the reusable, hard plastic cup at sporting events. Not only does this send kids at stadiums into a frenzy as they try to collect as many cups as they can to get the £1 incentive to give back the cup, but it has also already been reported to cut plastic waste at stadiums by 63% - that’s from changing just cups. Arsenal reported saving more than half a million single-use cups from landfill and they are not alone. Manchester City has introduced a returnable cup scheme which has helped with the removal of an estimated 29,000 single-use plastic cups per match. London clubs Chelsea, Fulham and West Ham have all trialled similar schemes. More broadly, the Lord’s and Oval cricket grounds and Twickenham rugby stadium all offer returnable cup initiatives.

Arsenal’s deputy stadium manager noted:

One step further…

For all the merits of these hard plastic cups, my old man and I were still not satisfied. To be honest there probably aren’t many, if any, better options, I mean you’ve got to have your pint somehow. Nonetheless, we rallied on thinking about what else could be done.

Such cups undoubtedly represent a big win, they represent some thought of the environment and show the possibility of great action with relatively little effort. But more can certainly be done. The first inevitable point of call needs to be to increase the reach of this scheme. German football clubs are all now mandated to have reusable cups and this needs to be implemented across the UK. A second easy fix is to ensure the cups are recycled after their stadium life, akin to in Russia following the 2018 world cup. The reusable cups were recycled by the tournament’s main sponsor, Budweiser, into an artificial pitch next to the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi, Russia.

While there seems a limit to how sustainable these cups can and should be, the problem current problems still stem from the disposal of the cups after their 100-200 game life span. This is where the novel idea of having a plastic, biodegradable cup comes to fruition. As trialled at Twickenham, the home of English Rugby, Lyfecycle has released the first self-destructing plastic cups with a focus on tackling ocean plastic pollution. While made for recycling, if the cup escapes into nature, thanks to Lyfecycle technology, it will self-destruct on land within two years leaving no microplastics or toxins behind. What is left is only an earth-friendly wax that becomes a part of the natural cycle of life.

Dreaming

But of course, probably for the sole reason of being pedantic, for my dad and I this wasn’t enough. There was still a problem with the disposable nature of the cups. This tied into the issue of single-use plastic bottles, shouldn’t they be banned entirely and then people would be forced to carry a water bottle? But people can’t be bothered to carry something clunky and physical like a bottle and in this context, you don’t want to be carrying a cup to your event. The first option here is maybe you do need to as showcased at the Pepsi Center in Denver last year. Or maybe, my dad’s genius idea of your own inflatable cup could be the answer. While the exact design and viability of this were not thought of beyond a conversational gist, the idea that one takes their own cup, inflates it at the venue, gets served a drink and takes it home to wash and reuse seemed to stick for me. You remove the need for disposal and the clunky nature of a cup or bottle.

Maybe we are all thinking too much within the box and there’s a futuristic idea that goes beyond the physicality of a cup altogether. Equally, maybe this was a conversation between father and son that didn’t need sharing with anyone and should have stayed at the cricket! Regardless, would be interesting to see the ideas of the entrepreneurial minds out there. After FoodCLUB, maybe an inflatable cup is the next new hot company?

Upcoming guests

As the realm of sustainability evolves and continues to garner attention, more people and companies are increasingly concerned with Sustainability-related matters which provides an exciting opportunity for world-class guests on this platform. We will delve into the minds of visionary entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and changemakers making waves in the sustainable food realm. Don’t miss our next edition as we continue exploring the theme of waste and conceiving possible solutions for reducing it in discussion with our next guest, Harry Cheung. Harry is a Global Sustainable Development graduate from the University of Warwick who focused is research on the causes and effects of waste, so it will be exciting to pick his brains on how the issue affects every pillar of sustainability.

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Yours Kindly,

Jack Feather

Head of Sustainability at FoodCLUB