Major festivals in Flanders, including Pukkelpop, Rock Werchter, Tomorrowland and Graspop, are challenging the legal requirement to provide reusable cups, according to a report published on Saturday by Het Belang van Limburg.
In both Flanders and Wallonia, it is now illegal for these events to use disposable cups. Last year, however, an exemption was granted to four leading festivals – Rock Werchter, Pukkelpop, Graspop and Tomorrowland – and about twenty smaller ones.
The main reason being that the organisers still had a large quantity of disposable cups to use up. Therefore, this year, they are required to offer only reusable cups.
"We easily need two million reusable cups," claims Nele Bigaré from Rock Werchter. Tomorrowland estimates a daily requirement of one and a half million.
Further complications arise as it is not practical to clean these cups on site, say festival organisers. The cups will have to be transported off-site to dedicated washing facilities. "This means that transportation will quadruple or even multiply further, compared to previous years," explains Debby Wilmsen, Tomorrowland spokesperson. Consequently, festivals are questioning if reusable cups have a lower environmental impact.
Despite this, some experts refute the organisers’ arguments. "I see no reason for festivals to continue with disposable cups," responds Karine Van Doorsselaer, a lecturer in eco-design and materials science at the University of Antwerp. "Their arguments are primarily economic, not environmental."
