Zoo Tunes Launch
- Feb 3
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 1
In June 2022, a first of its kind reusable cup system was launched at a number of live music venues in Seattle. r.Cup, an industry leading reusable cup company, provided services to replace all single-use cups, executing the logistics of collection and cleaning of all cups used by patrons at several entertainment venues.
The Launch
The first venue to launch the r.Cup system was the Woodland Park Zoo at their ZooTunes Summer Concert Series, which began on June 15, 2022. This was followed by 11 additional concerts through June, July, and August.
By the numbers, implementing reuse at 12 concerts attended by more than 30,000 attendees resulted in 27,380 single-use cups eliminated, 471 pounds of waste diverted, 2,148 pounds of CO2 eliminated, 9,944 gallons of water saved, 5,197 kwh of energy saved, and 1,727 liters of crude oil saved. While some attendees chose to keep their reusable cups, there was a 95% cup recovery rate across the 12 events.
Key Observations and Takeaways
"A lot of our patrons come up to us specifically to thank us for doing this work and ask how they can get it going at other venues they patronize." - Liv Johansson, Sustainable Waste Management Specialist, Woodland Park Zoo
Recovery rates
r.Cup took strong measures such as posting clear signage, providing ample return bins, facilitating announcements from the stage, and strategically positioning volunteers to encourage concertgoers to return their cups. This resulted in a recovery rate of >90% at each event, which is typical of r.Cup's system. It is assuymed that customers who did not return their cups likely thought that they were "souvenir" cups they could take with them. This can be combatted with more explicit instructions in signage.
Public engagement
The public was enthusiastic about the reusable cups. Anecdotally, many concertgoers asked how the cups would get reused and where else the reusable cup systems might launch in Seattle. Many also expressed their appreciation that the cup design was durable.
Appetite for zero waste events
While concerns remain around the pricing of reusable cup systems versus single-use compostable cups, the Levy concessionary representatives gained comfort and confidence around the logistics and operations of using reusable cups over the course of the ZooTunes series.
