Even engineers didn t believe it NASA manages to repair Juno s camera in the middle of Jupiter s orbit with an extreme thermal trick
Goodbye microscopes and labs new AI that detects dangerous mosquitoes in seconds is already saving lives in Africa and could soon reach Florida
No antennas, no apps Starlink now allows messaging without a network, but only with latest generation cell phones
Are festival glasses something you prefer to keep? Here are some reasons why that isn’t a good idea. It’s fairly typical to be provided a reusable plastic glass for your drinks when attending a music event. We refer to that as a deposit glass. You can return it and receive your money back at the end of the festival after paying a nominal price (say, one euro).
Because they want to have a collection of these items from other events or because they retain them as souvenirs, many people choose not to return them. Most individuals do this seemingly innocuous thing, but it’s not!Let’s examine why.
Why is keeping the glasses bad for the planet?
These glasses are still constructed of plastic even though they aren’t thrown away like disposable ones. You are wasting plastic if you take it home and never use it again.
The fact that these items are designed to be used frequently is their best feature. Returning them allows the festival to clean them and repurpose them for the following year. In this manner, they can reduce the number of new ones they need to create, which contributes to environmental protection.
The system is destroyed when people take these items home, according to an environmental specialist who deals with these kinds of problems. Every one that isn’t returned means that another one must be created, which consumes energy and produces pollution.
What does the Vieilles Charrues festival do to avoid this problem?
One of France’s largest festivals is this one. About 70,000 people attend each night, and it takes place in a location called Carhaix every year. Consider the sheer number of glasses that are used.
To prevent plastic waste, this festival has taken the following actions over a number of years:
- They always use the same design every year. Why? Because if they change the image or color each year, people will want to collect them, and won t return them.
- If the design is always the same, there s less reason to collect them, and most of them are returned.
- They wash all of them during the festival, in a kind of special laundry. And not just glasses: also coffee mugs, wine glasses, beer pints, etc.
- They don t want to be a plastic factory. They re not interested in making more money by selling new glasses every year just because people want to collect them.
What happens to the ones that are lost or not returned?
Every year, some people take their glasses home, while others break or become too filthy to be used again. When that occurs:
- The festival only makes new ones to replace those that were lost or can t be used anymore.
- Those that are too old or broken are recycled in a special recycling center.
And what do they do with the glasses during the rest of the year?
They don’t simply put the glasses in a warehouse and do nothing after the festival. They do the following:
- They rent them to other festivals or events.
- They also have a special laundry that washes them from other events, like the Interceltic Festival of Lorient.
- They even help associations, local governments, or individuals who have their own glasses and need someone to wash them.
So what s the best thing you can do?
When attending a festival with deposit glasses, the recommended course of action is:
- Return it at the end of the festival
- Get your euro back
- Help that object be reused the next year
In this way, less plastic is wasted, pollution is reduced, and they don’t have to produce another one. If you have glasses from previous years at home, you may either return them to receive your euro back or bring them to the next event and utilize them there. It is not a challenging activity, and you will be making a positive contribution to the environment. After this, will you continue to bring festival glasses home?
