Music festivals are a blast and often result in amazing experiences and memories that last a lifetime. What will also last a lifetime are the disposable cups used at these festivals, which result in pollution and harm to ecosystems and humans in the long term.
What happened?
The electronic music festival Tomorrowland, which is held annually in Antwerp, Belgium, has come under fire for their use of single-use, disposable cups at their 2024 event, reported Euronews.
The city is in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium. Since June 2023, this region has passed laws stating that events within its borders must use reusable or mostly recycled cups when serving drinks. Tomorrowland, therefore, falls under those laws and is now being charged and fined.
The fine for the penalty could be as high as €2 million ($2.2 million), reported Euronews. On top of that fine, Tomorrowland "may face an extra fee to erase the money it saved by using disposable cups," which is estimated to be around €1.5 million ($1.7 million).
Tomorrowland responded to the penalty and fines, explaining they were using extra disposable cups from previous years and that the festival "does not place itself above the law," as per Euronews.
Why was Tomorrowland's use of disposable cups concerning?
Tomorrowland had a stock of 3 million disposable cups, a massive amount of which were discarded into landfills.
An article from the Guardian summarized a 2022 report from the Kent School of Business on the environmental impact of disposable cups. The report's authors told the Guardian, "The entire lifecycle of disposable cups, from raw material extraction to production and transportation, requires significant energy, contributing to environmental degradation."
The article then explained that disposable cups, whether they are plastic, Styrofoam, or paper (but still usually lined with plastic), decompose very slowly and release microplastics into the environment, harming ecosystems and humans alike.
What's being done about single-use plastic?
Flanders is not alone in passing laws to reduce single-use or disposable cups and products.
The Biden administration, for example, recently announced plans to remove single-use plastic from all federal operations. This national move follows states like California and Colorado, which have banned or will be banning single-use plastic bags and other disposable items.
Additionally, there are endless ways for individuals to reduce the use of plastic and make realistic (and usually cheaper) swaps in products to better the environment.
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