Reusable dishes part of Tapiola May Day
This year, the opening ceremony of Tapiola May Day, celebrated for the third time, reduced waste by using reusable dishes instead of disposable glasses, cups and plates.
Sustainable future through reuse
More efficient use of resources plays a key role in the fight against both climate change and loss of biodiversity. Espoo is actively working to reduce waste and achieve a circular economy. Large public events are a great opportunity to make a difference: we have access to both a large amount of waste and a high number of people.
“Washable and reusable dishes save natural resources when the same dishes are used many times instead of always making new ones and arranging waste management for the used ones. I actually think that an even more important benefit we can achieve through events like this is people gradually becoming used to the fact that objects that were produced with a lot of effort cannot be just thrown away; instead, they must be used and appreciated for as long as possible,” says Outi Jounila from Espoo’s Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development.
The opening ceremony of Tapiola May Day was held on 30 April at the Heikki von Herzenin aukio square in Tapiola, and the residents’ association Tapiolan Kilta was responsible for organising the event. The programme included music, food and drinks, games and a bouncy castle. During the day, approximately 1,500–2,000 people visited the event.
“Not just durable but also much more convenient”
The event visitors excelled at both using the dishes and returning them. Positive feedback was also received from people manning the stands.
“Of course, sustainable development is important, but what really makes reuse attractive is first and foremost its practicality: plastic dishes are not as fragile as glass ones and they cannot be thrown around by wind like disposable ones can. For the event organiser, this was an extremely easy experience: dishes were brought in clean and taken away dirty,” says entrepreneur Johanna Lohivesi from Astra Wines Oy who organised the wine service for the event.
“The return rate of dishes was great and customers adapted well to the new policy,” says Annukka Pikkutupa-Vaittinen from the association Kelovartijoiden kannatusyhdistys.
Pikkutupa-Vaittinen was correct. Of the reusable plates, all were returned for washing. More than 90% of the cups and glasses were returned. Unlike in many events, there was no deposit set for the dishes, because the aim was to make the user experience as smooth as possible.
Experiments lead to established practices
The reusable dishes were provided for the event by the project Closed Plastic Circle – from Pilots into Practice which finds economically smart routes for more sustainable use of plastics. The aim of the experiment with reusable dishes was to show Espoo-based event organisers and visitors a way to make events more sustainable. The dishes were rented from GreenCup, which was also able to test a new addition to its product range: plates and a washing line for them. New policies always require practice before they take root – time will tell what kind of dishes we will use for future events.
“We would like to express how thankful we are that through reusable dishes, we could participate in a pilot project organised by you and that Espoo wants to reduce the amount of waste generated at city events. We think the experiment went brilliantly and gave us confidence that reusable dishes will become more common in the future,” says Joar Löf, CEO and co-founder of GreenCup.
“We encourage all event organisers to implement concrete measures to take sustainable development into account in their own events. No matter the scale of the event, you can always do something a little better. The use of reusable dishes at the May Day event is a successful example of how people’s attitudes are changed through practical implementation,” says Jussi Hietala from Espoo City Events.
