Five festival glass scams

BarcelonaTwenty years ago, reusable cups began to gain popularity to reduce the accumulation of plastic waste during local festivals. In Catalonia, the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) pioneered the returnable cup system with deposit, and the model spread to municipalities such as Molins de Rei, Rubí, and Girona. More and more administrations have taken the step of eliminating disposable cups, and now major social and cultural events and music festivals are doing so, as required by law. However, the Rezero Foundation notes that behind compliance with the law lies "a business model" based on greenwashing (greenwashing, in English).

According to this independent, non-profit foundation, the reusable cup model used by festival organizers only benefits them, as it provides a new source of income. On an environmental level, however, it makes no sense: they often lack return logistics (washing stations and collection staff) and reuse is left to the users, who must decide whether to take the cups home or throw them away. Ultimately, reusable cups work. de facto such as disposable cups.

Rezero claims that most macro-festivals prohibit bringing in soft drinks or water from home, and force people to buy everything inside and "at exorbitant prices." They also ask for a deposit of 1 to 4 euros that cannot always be returned. If it is returned, they often don't have washing equipment that allows it to be reused. "An opportunity to move towards zero waste has ended up being manipulated, and the victim of these abuses disguised as environmentalism is the public," the foundation denounces.

Several "traps"

Rezero's warning is based on the detection of five "traps" at various festivals, such as Primavera Sound and Sónar. According to the foundation, one is that millions of cups continue to be manufactured each year, and on top of that, they use ten times more plastic than before. "Since they aren't responsible for collecting and washing them, in many cases they end up abandoned. The aggravating factor is that, since they contain more plastic, they entail greater waste of resources," they say. This was the case at Sónar in 2024, although this year they have contracted a recovery and washing service, they add.

A second problem identified is the design of the cups: they often include the date and the festival logo, making them impossible to reuse at other events. And a third trap is that attendees must pay for the cup whether they want it or not, since the organizers "have no interest in recovering them." The organization points out that festivals like Alma also don't refund the money paid for the cup because they don't charge a deposit, but rather the organizers require them to purchase a plastic cup. "The wording says that the organizers are only obligated to refund the money for the cup if it has been charged as a deposit," Rezero laments.

Closely related to the previous point, cups have become just another merchandising item. "But mountains of cups are still mountains of wasted plastic, even at the back of a kitchen cupboard," they argue. And this leads to the fifth deception: filling boxes with used cups and sending them for recycling is the same thing you do with disposable cups. "That's what some festivals do, like Primavera Sound, and it's an environmentally worse option than reusing them: you lose energy, material quality, and ecological efficiency. If the cup isn't reused, it's not sustainable," the organization denounces.

Pending regulations

The report indicates that the Cruïlla Festival, for example, does have a glass recovery and washing system that operates with a deposit system. Cruïlla sources emphasize that 90% of the containers it uses are returnable, and that they facilitate the return of glasses and encourage attendees to collaborate with mobile return points. Once the glass is returned, the €2 deposit is immediately returned to the wristband.

Rezero's general manager, Rosa García, is calling on public authorities to urgently implement regulations to oblige private developers to establish container return and genuine reuse systems. Government sources confirm to ARA that they are aware of these practices and that the waste law, still being processed, must control, among other issues, the operation of these systems.

García also points out that the Ministry of Ecological Transition must complete the Royal Decree on packaging by 2026 and asks that it rectify the "poorly worded" version of all articles referring to reusable packaging. "We must clearly mandate, without any kind of interpretation, systems that guarantee the return, sanitation, and reuse of cups and containers at these events," he states.