Reducing Waste Through Reuse

The Waste Hierarchy Explained

The Waste Hierarchy is widely used by environmental and government agencies to rank waste management options by environmental benefit. UK companies have a legal responsibility to follow its principles under waste minimisation regulations.

There are five levels:

1. Prevention — stop waste at the source
2. Reuse — extend product life through repeated use
3. Recycling — turn used material into new products
4. Recovery — extract energy from waste
5. Disposal — landfill or incineration as a last resort

Reusable cups sit right at the top of this hierarchy — directly contributing to the most environmentally beneficial solution: preventing waste entirely.

Why Reuse Beats Recycling

Recycling still requires energy, water, transport, and processing. Reuse eliminates all of that.

Each Eco Cup can replace hundreds of disposable cups — saving resources and reducing emissions with every reuse. When it eventually reaches end of life, it is recycled in a closed loop, ensuring nothing is wasted.

Carbon Impact & Reporting

Independent analysis (Hope Solutions, 2022) shows that for every 1 million reusable cups in regular use:

• ~1,000 tonnes of CO₂e emissions are avoided
• ~300 tonnes of waste is prevented

Put into event context: A 50,000-person festival switching to reusables can prevent around 50 tonnes of CO₂e emissions in just one weekend.

Eco Cups can also provide custom sustainability reports, giving you accurate reuse statistics and estimated environmental savings for audits, tenders, and sponsor reporting.

Our Commitment to a Circular Future

Countries across Europe, the US, and Australia are already embracing reuse-first policies — and the UK is accelerating rapidly in the same direction. Eco Cups is proud to help lead this transformation.

By choosing reuse, you:

• Reduce your event’s carbon footprint
• Support national sustainability goals
• Strengthen ESG and corporate responsibility credentials
• Inspire behavioural change among attendees

Closed-Loop Recycling System

Our cups are manufactured from 100% recyclable polypropylene (PP).

When they can no longer be reused, they are recovered, reprocessed, and transformed into new products — completing a closed-loop circular cycle and ensuring zero cup waste.

Every part of their journey — from local manufacturing to responsible end-of-life processing — is designed to minimise environmental impact.

Start Your Reuse Journey Today

Switching to reusable cups is one of the most effective changes any event can make. Cleaner sites, lower emissions, stronger sustainability credentials — and a better experience for guests.

Make reuse your new standard.