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If you usually go to concerts and festivals, it will have happened to you. more than once. If you want to order a drink at the bar, in addition to the soft drink, beer or big cup you have to pay for a special glass, one supposedly “reusable”although in practice most people never use it again. It remains as a memory of the festival. And that is in the best of cases. Many others end up in green bins or thrown on the floor, just like single-use plastic cups. There are those who believe that It’s time to change that. What has happened? That the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Miteco) has just received a small slap on the wrist from the more than 130 social, environmental, neighborhood and consumer organizations that are part of the Zero Waste Alliance and the #LeydeResiduosYA platform. In a statement issued a few days ago by Greenpeace (one of its members), both groups complain about the “legal loophole” that exists around supposedly “reusable” glasses at festivals and concerts and ask the department headed by Sara Aagesen to improve its regulation. What is the problem? That often the packaging distribute sold at festivals with the label ‘sustainable’ are anything but. Hence Zero Waste and #LeydeResiduosYa talk about “false ‘reusable’ glasses.” In theory the RD 1055/2022 points out that from July 1, 2023, the promoters of any “festive, cultural or sporting event” (whether or not it has public sponsorship) must “implement alternatives to the sale and distribution of beverages in single-use containers and glasses”, in addition to guaranteeing access to unpackaged water. That’s the theory, of course. Greenpeace and the rest of the organizations that have addressed Miteco they denounce that, “in practice, the reusable cup has become a mere product of merchandising that is charged to attendees, but that lacks a real collection and circulation system. Is it a problem? Of course, this is what Julio Barea, head of Greenpeace’s waste area, considers, who regrets the “legal vacuum” and that a concept as seemingly simple as ‘sustainable packaging’ has been degraded. “A cup is not reusable because it is made of thicker plastic or because it has a sustainable message printed on it. It is only reusable if it is systematically returned, washed and recirculated,” warns the expert “Without a real return circuit, we are faced with just another single-use waste, disguised as green.” The most curious thing, as environmental organizations highlight, is that there is already legislation (Law 7/2022 and RD 1055/2022) on the topic. The problem is, in your opinion“the lack of operational development and inspections”, which has caused the spirit of the laws to be “evaded”. “Large festivals and events cannot continue to wash their image at the expense of the consumer’s pocket. Charging one euro for a glass without offering the real option to return it is climate fraud.” Is it just theory? No. There are practical cases that help to better understand the problem. In November 2025 Facua revealed that the Seville City Council’s Consumer Service planned to fine a concert promoter 20,000 euros precisely for not allowing users to return glasses that were supposedly “reusable” and charged at 1.5 euros. “People who wanted to drink the cold drink were forced to purchase the official glass of the concert for an added amount of 1.5 euros. In the case of beers, there was no alternative to buying these glasses, since the only option was on tap,” details Facuawhich denounces that, despite RD 1055/2022, the supposedly reusable glasses were not allowed to be returned. Why are they denouncing him now? That the Zero Waste Alliance and #YAWasteLaw have raised his voice right now it’s no coincidence. And not only because we have just entered summer, the quintessential time of festivals and open-air concerts. The organizations want the ministry to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the upcoming reform of the Royal Packaging Decree to “implement effective collection, washing and traceability systems.” “The imminent adaptation of the state legal framework to the new European Regulation 2025/40 on packaging, applicable from August, represents the ideal opportunity to correct this anomaly,” underlines Zero Waste and #LeydeResiduosYa, which ask that the new regulatory framework address several points: define what a “reusable cup” is and oblige organizers to enable visible return points and be clear when providing information. Furthermore, they require concert promoters to report how many containers they have used, how many they have recovered and what their actual reuse cycles are like. They also claim that their way of acting influences issues such as authorizations, sponsorships or public subsidies. Images | Noland Live (Pexels), Jess Low (Pexels) and Lukas Eggers (Unsplash) Via | DAP In Xataka | A week of air conditioning is 70 liters of “dirty” water wasted: this way we can recycle it for other things