14 juni 2023
A circular approach makes your event sustainable and future-proof
Starting 1 July 2023, new legislation will come into effect that bans the use of single-use plastic in the events industry. How exactly does this legislation work, and what can your organization do about it? You can read all about it here!
In the Netherlands, 7 billion single-use plastic cups are thrown away each year, 500 million of which come from festivals. This has a major impact on the environment. To reduce this impact, the European Union has agreed on joint legislation that provides guidelines for reducing the environmental effects of single-use plastic. Each member state is free to implement these guidelines in its own way.
In the Netherlands, a goal has been set to reduce the use of single-use plastic by 40% by 2026, compared to 2022. To achieve this, specific guidelines have been created for two different groups: closed events and open events.
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For closed events, where visitors need to buy a ticket and the event grounds are enclosed, the use of single-use plastic will be banned as of 1 January 2024.
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For open events, where the event area is not enclosed and anyone can walk in, free single-use materials may no longer be offered from 1 July 2023.
What can your organization do?
Drink cups
The two options to prevent single-use plastic at an event from drink cups are (1) reusing the cups or (2) recycling the cups after the event.
Reusing cups is the most sustainable option, provided the cup is used at least 5 times. The preference is to make the cups from polypropylene (PP), and working with an experienced cup supplier is important.Recycling plastic cups is only possible with PET plastic, which is highly recyclable. Recycled PET has a lower environmental impact, and there must be a clean mono-stream of the plastic cups.
Hi! I’m Yasmine.
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In Amsterdam, I studied Future Planet Studies, a program focused on sustainability and the environment. During this time, I discovered a strong passion for implementing a circular economy. My thesis explored how to encourage people to adopt behaviors that fit within a circular economy, and I found that many people are already highly motivated to do so. However, the necessary facilities are often lacking.
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At Tactile, I have frequently worked on events, and I see that there are still many opportunities for sustainability in this field—opportunities that are not even that difficult to implement. I hope this article helps uncover some of those possibilities!
Food packaging
The options to prevent single-use plastic for food packaging are (1) reusing the packaging or (2) making the packaging plastic-free.
Reusing food packaging is the most sustainable choice, provided it is used 8 times. However, the market for this is still very much in development, and logistically it is not yet realistic to implement this now. Making the packaging plastic-free can be done by offering alternatives such as bagasse, cardboard, wood, or bamboo. It is important not to use aluminum, as this increases the environmental impact. Bioplastics are also included in the new legislation, so these may not be used. The advice is to reuse plastic wherever possible. If this is not possible, then choose to recycle the plastic or make plastic-free packaging. In both cases, the goal is to prevent as much litter as possible!
How can the Tactile system help with this?
At Tactile, we have long facilitated a return system in the form of a deposit as part of our payment system for events. When you receive a cup, a deposit is charged, and when you return it, this is credited back to the visitor’s account. This provides a financial incentive for the visitor to participate in the event’s sustainability plan! You could also link this to a points system as a gamification incentive, where visitors earn points when they return their cup or food packaging. In these two ways, we can facilitate a return system, allowing your event organization to comply with the new legislation.
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Tactile has long been committed to an ecosystem designed to reduce the use of single-use plastics through a cashless payment system, eliminating the need for plastic tokens. Our ecosystem uses wristbands, for which we also offer sustainable material solutions, and we also facilitate the collection of wristbands for recycling or reuse at future events.
Do you have another idea you would like to see integrated into the system? We are happy to discuss the possibilities with you!