https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clye29255q8o
Visitors to the SSE Arena in Belfast will have to pay an extra £1 for their first drink as part of a move towards reusable plastic cups.
The charge is not refundable and the arena said it would be used to pay for the cost of transporting the cups to be cleaned at "a new state-of-the-art washing facility" in Carryduff.
Belfast Giants fan Nicola Jones, who helps run Teal Army – an unofficial supporters' group for the ice hockey team, criticised the charge.
The SSE said the charge was "essential to cover operational costs" as it switched from single-use cups to reusable ones.
The arena is one of seven venues in Belfast piloting a scheme to remove single-use plastic cups at gigs and events in 2025.
Ms Jones told BBC News NI she appreciated what the SSE Arena was trying to do, but saw no benefit to the scheme.
"I understand the need to create a greener environment. However, I don't understand why we have to effectively pay for the trial of the system and paying for the recycling policy," she said.
"There is no benefit in taking the cups back. Where is the benefit to me? It's just additional cost."
Ms Jones said she had been to other venues in England where the charge was refunded.
"People were motivated to clear and return the cups or take them home to wash and bring back at another time," she said.
"Why is that not an option?"
Some venues, including the Motorpoint Arena and Nottingham and Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham, charge £1 per cup as a deposit which customers can reclaim when they return the cup.
The Ovo Hydro in Glasgow used to operate the same scheme but has now scrapped the £1 charge, saying it wanted to "streamline the process".
'Specialist washing facility'
A spokesperson for the SSE Arena said the £1 levy was "essential to cover operational costs, including cleaning, sanitising, and transporting cups to a specialist washing facility in Carryduff".
They added the SSE had been exploring the scheme since 2018, but had "lacked access to a local wash plant, making it unviable until now".
"The £1 levy was introduced as a transparent approach to funding the scheme," the spokesperson added.
"Any surplus from the levy will support the Odyssey Trust's charitable and green initiatives, reinforcing our commitment to sustainability."
When visitors to the SSE purchase their first drink they will receive it in a reusable cup and will pay a £1 levy.
The purchased cup can then be exchanged for a fresh cup for each subsequent drink, without the need to pay the levy again.
Cups must be returned it to a designated collection point in the arena at the end of the event.
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Two other venues involved in the reusable cup pilot – the Waterfront Hall and Ulster Hall – said they would not be charging a levy.
They told BBC News NI they were "committed to this important move and have made a significant investment in this initiative as a business".
"We will be trying to mitigate the additional operating costs through savings in other areas across the business," a spokesperson said.
Single-use plastic ban
The 12-month pilot to remove single-use plastic cups is being driven by the Venue Sustainability Forum and supported by Visit Belfast.
The Oh Yeah Centre, Black Box, Voodoo and The MAC are the other venues involved.
They will team up with North Down Marquees, who will deliver reusable cups to venues, pick up used ones, which will be washed in a central washing facility, and redistributed.
by Pigeon_Asshole
20 comments
I’m okay with this. It’s £1
I didn’t realise you don’t get the quid back. Anywhere I’ve been that has reusable cups treat it as a deposit, ie you get it back when you return the cup
Black Box is doing something similar, and I’m all for this apart from one caveat.
The fact you can’t get your quid back at the end is a joke.
Why does Notthern Ireland always follow the rest of the world’s example and then do a shitter version of it.
I’ve been to loads of club, concerts and festivals in Europe where they will do the cup deposit scheme, and I really like it because it means people bring their cups back and you don’t end up with a floor covered in broken empty cups and beer dregs. (Anyone who just throws their cup on the floor in a club or at a concert is a tramp)
But everywhere I’ve been, literally everywhere, you get your deposit back from the bar. Why is Belfast any different? Why do we always get the fucking Temu version of everything?
>People were motivated to clear and return the cups or take them home to wash and bring back at another time,” she said.
“Why is that not an option?”
I dunno but I kinda prefer the high tech cleaning facility option, we had to have nation wide adverts during a pandemic to remind ppl to wash their fuckin hands
As if people needed nore reasons to not go out lol
On top of a reasonably priced pint, it would be ludicrous
On top of a 9£ pint it seems reasonable.
I’ll just bring a cup with me then so
I worked there for a bit, and the waste after an event is insane so I’m all for this tbh
Shame there’s no return refund part as I enjoy seeing the hustlers who run around arenas/stadiums collecting a mountain of cups
On top of the already extortionate prices they charge for drinks, surely they could us the quid out of the almost £30 you’ve already gave them for 4 pints?
Cunts
I work in a venue in Belfast (not one doing this scheme), about the same capacity as the Black Box. We use reusable plastic glasses that we bought from Nesbitts, which we then put in our domestic dishwasher at the end of the night.
I don’t understand why these venues can’t just… get on-site dishwashers??
Like for example, if every bar point in the waterfront had a catering dishwasher they could just wash the cups on site.
Such a stupid, thoughtless scheme imo
While I agree the £1 charge should be a deposit… Can you imagine the chaos at the end of a show with everyone queuing to get their £1 back?! 😅 They should follow Rammstein’s idea, charge €3 deposit, or keep as a souvenir.
When I was on holiday, the theme park had this same scheme for fountain drinks etc You could either give them your receipt and cup and get your money back, or you could keep the nice memento cup – we opted to keep a couple, brought the back over next couple of visits and brought home with us.
I know the idea is a bit icky at first, but providing they are following the proper cleaning routine then its no big deal.
“Any surplus from the levy will support the Odyssey Trust’s charitable and green initiatives, reinforcing our commitment to sustainability.”
Every company does the same. You pay, they take the credit. At work we were recently “invited” to prepare baytrakes that we would then bring in on a Friday and sell to each other after work to help the company raise money for charity. Let’s reword what I’ve just said slightly:
1) workers spend own personal time shopping for ingredients for tray bakes
2) Workers produce said tray bakes, again in their personal time.
3) Workers then stay late on a Friday, after hours, in their own personal.
4) Workers buy traybakes with their own money, any money they “earn” from selling them goes to the company
5) The company makes a charitable contribution and reports it to the local newspapers.
so to save the environment, they are trucking cups to Carryduff and back to be washed
What’s the incentive to give the cup back if you don’t get the quid back? People will just take them home or throw them in the bin.
Cool, so if you are a season ticket holder at the ice hockey, and you enjoy an alcoholic drink at every game, youre now being charged an extra £40 per individual across a season.
You can take the quid out of the £3.50 I paid one time for a 500ml bottle of Riverrock. Still haven’t got over that
What happens if you order multiple drinks at once? At sold out shows the queues are so long I often buy at least 2 pints at a time. Will that mean I’ll be charged an additional £2?
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