Disposable Free Music Event

Disposable Free Music Event

-
3 months
Sara Ohlsson

How to implement disposable-free methods

There is no universal model – every event has different conditions depending on size, budget, and logistics. Success requires early planning, cooperation, and clear responsibilities between organisers, vendors, suppliers, waste managers, and visitors.

The Disposable-free for the Climate method
At the Gothenburg Culture Festival 2024, Sweden’s largest disposable-free test was carried out in partnership with the Streetfood Festival and Light My Fire. Planning began around three months before the event, coordinated by Göteborg & Co. Roles were divided:

Light My Fire supplied reusable plates, cups, and sporks, while the Streetfood Festival provided glasses. Light My Fire oversaw the entire rotation system – from distribution and visitor information to collection and dishwashing.
60 food trucks and two large bars served food and drinks in reusables.
An external agency created simple, clear communication for visitors.
A local handball club acted as environmental hosts at sorting stations, guiding visitors and ensuring dishes were returned.

The chosen model prioritised ease of use: no deposits, just staffed return points and clear signage. This created a positive visitor experience – 80% of surveyed guests rated it fairly or very positive – but also meant accepting some losses (16.6% overall). Logistically, around 93.000 items were washed and rotated through mobile dishwashing units. Continuous cooperation, daily briefings, and quick adjustments were crucial to keep flows working.

Steps taken in Gothenburg

Plan & Set Goals – Replace single-use tableware with reusables.
Design the System – Rent and rotate items via staffed dishwashing.
Keep It Simple – No deposits or barriers for visitors.
Guide Visitors – Clear communication and environmental hosts.
Run Logistics – Dishwashing, transport, storage, and replacement.
Monitor & Measure – Track avoided waste, losses, and visitor feedback.
Assess Costs – Covered by rental fees and reduced waste bills, but logistics were resource-intensive.
Reflect & Improve – Financial incentives, clear agreements between the organiser, Streetfood Festival management, vendors and bars, as well as improved return mechanisms, could significantly reduce costs and losses.
Adapt for Scale – From small events with deposit cups to large open festivals.

Other available methods: deposit return systems, discounts for own containers, reusable glasses with refill stations, or dishwashing solutions ranging from portable units to large-scale facilities.

Takeaway from Gothenburg: Large-scale reuse is achievable. Design choices strongly influence outcomes: simple and welcoming systems attract high visitor support, while accountability measures are needed to reduce losses and secure long-term success. Losses are also easier to manage in closed festival areas than in open ones.

Why disposable-free events?

Events generate large volumes of single-use waste, especially from food and drink. This litter pollutes cities, parks, and rivers. UNEP warns that by 2050 plastic could outweigh fish in the oceans. Regulations are tightening – the EU has banned several single-use plastics, and Sweden banned plastic-coated cups in 2024 – but rules alone do not solve the problem. Festivals and food vendors need practical systems that work in busy, open settings.

The Gothenburg Culture Festival, attracting 150,000 visitors over four days to its large street food area, showed that disposable-free solutions are possible at large scale. Organisers replaced disposables with reusable plates, cups, glasses and sporks, washed and rotated through staffed stations. This required careful planning, strong logistics, and close cooperation between organiser, food trucks, suppliers, waste managers, and hosts guiding visitors.

Key learnings from Gothenburg:

Large-scale reuse is realistic; around 93,000 single-use items were avoided.

Some losses are natural: a 16.6% loss rate reflected an open festival and the choice to keep participation simple, without deposits.

Visitors responded well: 80% gave positive feedback.

Collaboration between all actors was crucial.

The benefits go beyond compliance:

Environmental: less waste, cleaner sites, lower plastic pollution.

Economic: lower long-term waste costs; deposits or partnerships can create revenue.

Regulatory: helps events meet EU rules and prepare for stricter ones.

Reputation: stronger sustainability profile attracts sponsors and visitors.

Experience: food and drinks feel better in durable tableware, creating a more professional event atmosphere.

Additional Material: “Disposable-free event promo video”

Capturing and sharing learnings

Developing a learning manual helps other organisers move faster. The Gothenburg team documented their approach so others would not need to start from zero. A strong manual combines practical steps with lessons learned and makes them easy to adapt.

Important elements include:

Clear goals and scope.
Early involvement of stakeholders – including Gothenburg Culture Festival and Streetfood Festival management, vendors, supplier Light My Fire, volunteer hosts, communication partners, and waste managers.
Step-by-step instructions for different methods.
Communication strategies with signage, campaigns, and simple messaging.
Honest reflection on challenges. For example, Gothenburg’s no-deposit approach kept things smooth for visitors but made vendor cooperation harder and led to losses.
Practical tools such as checklists, templates, and supplier contacts.
Data and results: waste avoided, costs, visitor feedback.
Suggestions for monitoring, surveys, and sharing outcomes.

By structuring this knowledge, events can avoid repeating mistakes and adapt solutions to their own scale. Manuals also support cross-city learning and encourage municipalities and partners to align on shared goals.

Download the learning manual Disposable-free for the Climate, built on lessons from the Gothenburg test.

Additional Material: “Learning Manual for Disposable-free Events”

Outcomes and recommendations for the future

The Gothenburg test proved that disposable-free events can work on a large scale and still be enjoyable for visitors. It reduced waste, improved the cleanliness of the festival area, and helped raise awareness of sustainability. The initiative also inspired organisers in other cities, showing how local action can spread.

Looking ahead, there are several recommendations:

Diversify methods: Expand beyond tableware to include reusable merchandise, food packaging alternatives, and composting solutions.
Adapt to scale: Smaller events can use simpler systems like deposit cups, while larger ones may need industrial dishwashing and broader logistics.
Create financial incentives: Clear agreements between the organiser, vendors, and bars, combined with improved return mechanisms, can reduce losses and overall costs. Vendor responsibility increases when deposits or revenue-sharing models are applied, while sponsorships can help offset expenses.
Localise strategies: Adjust communication and logistics to local regulations, suppliers, and cultural contexts.
Use digital tools: Apps can help track reuse, gather feedback, and report results in real time.
Strengthen education: Training for organisers and awareness campaigns for visitors build trust and participation.

The key outcome from Gothenburg is that disposable-free events are both possible and scalable. With a viable business model and the right mix of methods, partnerships, and knowledge-sharing, initiatives can shift from one-off projects to becoming standard practice at festivals, sports events, and conferences.

Additional Material:
Business model disposable-free event
Checklist disposable-free event
Promts disposable-free event
Partners for disposable-free event

Welcome to the Disposable-Free Events Guide

This guide gives organisers, suppliers, and cities practical tools to reduce waste and run events without single-use items. The focus is on shifting habits towards reusables, cutting litter, and building awareness of the impact of disposables.

The guide is based on the large test Disposable-Free for the Climate at the Gothenburg Culture Festival. The test showed that disposable-free solutions are possible even at large scale, but also that design choices, cooperation, and logistics strongly affect the results. These experiences form the basis of the step-by-step guide presented here.

Why it matters
Events bring people together – and that makes them powerful spaces for change. By replacing single-use items with reusables, organisers not only cut waste but also influence habits and show visitors what a circular society can look like. With regulations tightening, events can move faster than laws, turning challenges into opportunities for cleaner, smarter solutions.

What you will find here

Why disposable-free events? (Step 1)
The environmental, economic, and social reasons, plus results from Gothenburg.

How to implement methods (Step 2)
Options from large-scale reusable tableware systems to lighter, low-cost approaches like deposit cups or bring-your-own incentives.

Capturing and sharing learnings (Step 3)
How to write a learning manual that helps other organisers adapt tested methods, with checklists, templates, and lessons from Gothenburg.

Outcomes and future recommendations (Step 4)
What the pilot achieved, and how events can scale solutions, diversify methods, and strengthen cooperation.

This guide is flexible. Whether you plan a small community gathering or a large festival, you will find practical steps, examples, and templates to make disposable-free events achievable and impactful.

Quote from participants:

What a result! Awesome job!
Linnéa Bergman, Business Developer, Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation

Initiatives like these are exactly what we need for a circular society!

Sofia Lindblad, Group Sustainability Manager.

Disposable Free Music Event

Sara Ohlsson