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At an event organized in Bucharest by one of the largest whisky producers, Johnny Walker, I was pleasantly surprised to find that no disposable plastic or cardboard cups were used. The approximately 1,000 partygoers drank from reusable cups, which have been used in the last two years at 30 similar events.
The company that distributes the alcoholic beverage brand in Romania, PPD Global, embraced the idea of using such cups at events, initially as a pilot project, out of a desire to give up plastic, and later for financial and image reasons.
Cristina Despa, the company's representative, says: "We found this alternative very efficient financially, but it also offers a much more pleasant experience for consumers compared to the cardboard ones that are already present at all such events."
The system is called the Reusable Cup System with Deposit, similar to the SGR we already know, and has been operating in Western Europe for more than ten years. Practically, at the first order, customers pay a deposit of 10 lei. At the next order, they exchange the used cup for a new one. At the end, they return the cup and get their deposit back. Or they take the cup home and lose the deposit.
The system is implemented by a start-up based in Brașov, ZĂ KUP. There is also a depot and a sanitizing space where the dirty cups end up at the end of the party.
I challenged the start-up's founder, Alexandru Boncu, with two issues:
1. Carbon footprint. With the transportation of these cups between cities, isn't the carbon footprint actually larger? We reduce the amount of single-use plastic, but don't we risk increasing the footprint of the company using such a system?
2. Plastic in the product. We want to get rid of single-use plastic, but why not replace it with glass or aluminum? Why do we still use plastic?
And here are his answers:
"There is still a carbon footprint, but not as large as that of throwing away single-use plastic, because, let's be honest, after each event, the plastic ends up in the trash, in household waste, it doesn't get recycled, right? The same goes for cardboard with plastic lining, as you can't separate the plastic lining from the cardboard."
Data at the European level supports his statements. In Romania, only 11% of municipal waste is recycled, compared to 48%, the EU average.
Regarding the complete elimination of plastic, Alexandru Boncu says that in certain industries, such as events, it simply isn't possible.
"In events... What is a very important factor? The safety of the artist and the consumers, right? It is not consumer-safe to have stainless steel containers, for example, at a concert, which can be thrown, or at a stadium where they can be thrown onto the field, injuring someone else.
If we talk about polypropylene, from which our cups are made, it is somehow a second sustainable product after stainless steel, having many reuses. Our cups can be reused 500 times or more."
Studies in the field confirm that for events attended by tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people, where stainless steel or glass cannot be used, the option of reusable plastic cups remains more ecological than the "single-use" option.
Unexpected Advantages
The whisky producer that chose reusable cups has saved up to 120,000 single-use cups so far. This has meant reduced costs for both him and the company organizing the events, Cyclic. The company's owner, Ionuț Hupcă, admits that by implementing the system, he simply got rid of the garbage problem:
"For us, it was more important that there is not so much mess at events. And at standing events, at tables, people would leave cups everywhere. And then piles of garbage would form during the event. And we had to have many people cleaning up, always with dustpans and brooms at the event. I also had a reduction in cleaning staff, but more so, I would say, aesthetically and for the client's comfort."
The Reusable Cup System with Deposit can be applied throughout the HORECA industry. According to Ordinance 6/2021, any retailer, bar, or café selling single-use plastic cups is required to offer consumers a reusable alternative. But how many are already doing this?
And packaging rules will become increasingly strict, as explained by Luminița Roșca, general director of Stratos, an environmental consultancy firm:
"This year, the new packaging directive will also appear. Which will, of course, tighten current requirements, meaning that all packaging must be recyclable. A minimum, not only for plastic but also for other materials, a minimum percentage of recycled material, recycled waste, contained in the new product, the new packaging.
There are many, and I believe they need to be taken a bit in advance, looked at a bit... with attention, towards all these new requirements. Especially since the trend is for directives to become regulations, and if it becomes a regulation, a regulation must be applied in any EU member country. So we no longer have transposition in 2 years, in 3 years, we no longer have so much flexibility."
A study conducted by Stratos and Eco Synergy shows that only 10% of companies in Romania have invested so far in eco-design for the packaging of the products they sell, even though ecological design is the most important pillar of the circular economy.
Precisely because there is this need for education, for understanding the urgency of the transition, Asociația Soluții Sustenabile, with the support of Stratos and Eco Synergy, launched the video report campaign "A Second Life. Circular Economy Models," to show, concretely, how the transition from a linear economy to a circular economy can be made and to inspire others.
This is episode 3 of the campaign, dedicated to the Packaging sector.
Here you can watch episode 1 about Waste: From Waste to Raw Material, through Innovation
And here you can see episode 2, dedicated to Construction: Profit from Rubble
