Plastic waste at festivals and major public events could become a thing of the past thanks to a Teesside-based company, an MP has said.
Jacob Young, the Conservative MP for Redcar, said scenes of fields strewn with single-use plastic cups could be consigned to history thanks to the system developed by Event Cup Solutions.
In June 2020, Event Cup Solutions launched the UK’s only Carbon Neutral Reusable Cup System, a system that disposes the need for single-use food and beverage packaging. The ONE Planet ONE Chance Reusable Cup System delivers a fully managed, sustainable reusable solution for sports and music venues, festivals, events and anywhere else where large volumes of single-use cups are used.
Thanks to TVCA Event Cup Solutions was able to move to Teesside and are on the verge of securing funding to facilitate expansion. While the firm is currently in the process of setting up its new dedicated premises at Skippers Lane Industrial Estate, the next step will see the installation of specialist machinery which will wash and dry over 10,000 plastic cups per hour – that’s over 1.5 million cups per week.
In 2020 they supplied over 1.5 million reusable cups, and has gone on to win first prize for the Green Innovation Supplier competition at Vision 2025 conference this year. As a result, the company has already secured contracts for some of the biggest names in sports including EPL Football, Premiership Rugby as well as the nation’s biggest and best festival operators, beer brands and bar operators.
Once fully operational, Event Cup Solutions will offer 30-35 full-time positions within 2-3 years.
Jacob Young, Conservative MP for Redcar, said, “It’s fantastic to see what is being done at Event Cup Solutions to help dramatically reduce the use of single-use plastic at festivals and major events across the UK. The system designed by John and his team not only cuts plastic waste, the system also represents the UK’s only carbon-neutral returnable cup scheme. As we head towards our green industrial future, it’s no surprise to see this innovative, sustainable, clean, green business based here in Teesside. Scenes of festival fields littered with single-use plastic belong in the past – reusable systems as employed by Event Cup Solutions are the future.”
John Reeves, director of Event Cup Solutions, said, “When looking for a location to HQ our business, we took a number of factors into our decision-making process. We wanted to place our business where we would have access to an excellent workforce, an affordable but accessible road network giving us access to both north and south and to work in an area where we felt we could be part of something special in terms of us adding our environmental credibility to a wider area plan. All roads led to Teesside”.
