Royal Unibrew and Faerch have collaborated on cups made from recycled PET, processed back into food-grade material after use and said to have achieved a 97% return rate at Smukfest 2025 in Denmark.
Seeking to reduce the use of virgin plastics in the event industry, the cups are collected at bars, return stations, and designated collection points after use before being sent to Faerch’s recycling business Cirrec in the Netherlands. According to Faerch, they are then processed back into food-grade material which is used to produce new cups or other packaging.
The companies state that the high return rate shows festival guests are willing to be part of the circular return system when the solution is simple and meaningful. Apparently, Smukfest carried out staff training, made collection points more visible, communicated with guests through QR codes and information campaigns. The deposit for professional collectors was raised from 25 øre to 1 kr. per cup.
Royal Unibrew and Faerch say the cups are made from up to 86% recycled PET and can be part of a circular loop where the material is recycled repeatedly without loss of quality. The partners plan to expand the circular cup system to more festivals and events, both in Denmark and internationally.
In similar news, Dominique Huret, journalist at Cape Decision, explained how the Tomorrowland festival utilised technology for its reusable smart cups. In partnership with Belgian companies deSter, Aucxis, CupNation, and Weezevent, Tomorrowland replaced all single-use drinkware with sleek, semi-transparent smart cups - each carrying an embedded RFID chip linked to the festival’s cashless system.
More recently, reusable packaging provider r.World claims its reverse logistics and sanitizing solutions have kept 20 million single-use cups and foodware items out of landfills and avoided the production of over 110 tonnes of plastics. The company states that its cups and utensils can be reused up to 300 times, and the items are recycled into other ‘usable’ products at end-of-life.
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