Amusing Reuse: Recycling At Copenhagen's Tivoli
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 04.20.08
Spring has finally reached the northern reaches of the Northern Hemisphere, and that means amusement parks, and in Denmark's case, lots of beer drinking (it's legal to imbibe on the streets). In addition to amusing and not-so-amusing public drunkenness, the drinking policy also leads to mountains of street trash after a warm spring night.
But at the famous Copenhagen amusement park Tivoli (one of the world's very first in-city large scale permanent parks) there's no trace of plastic cups on the grounds or even in the bins, and that's not because of overzealous maintenance staff - it's due to Tivoli's plastic cup deposit and return system that gets an approximately 80 percent return rate. When purchasing a beer or soft drink at any of the numerous concessions in the park, an extra 5 Danish kroner (US$1) is added to price, and the thick polystyrene cup can be dropped off at one of a dozen on-site recycling kiosks, which refunds the money. The system has been in place for nearly a decade, and studies are showing that with a 5-time reuse (cups are washed off-site and average five to nine uses) the cups score better in life-cycle analysis than disposables and at a break-even cost to the concessions. Seems like a proven technology whose time, with oil at near $120 a barrel, surely must be here. Via Tivoli
P.S. Hit the jump to see the return kiosks and reusable cups
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- GreenBuild: Richard Moe Has a Tough Row to Hoe
- Let's Make November 15 Zero Waste Day, not America Recycles Day
Hah! I've been there! Very cool place.
Copenhagen continues to be one of my favorite cities in the world. I think I still prefer to get my beer in a bar in a glass with a much higher reuse rate.
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true, true, true - however when you see a reuse system like this one in action it makes you wonder why we don't have recycling vending machines for EVERYTHING!
this is nothing specific to Denmark, they do it all over Germany too. they probably do it at most outdoor festivals and events all over Europe. just because the US is an incredibly wasteful nation (not to mention paranoid about germs) don't assume the rest of the world acts and thinks like us.
===author reply -----
Hi Paul:
I know the Germans and the Danish were first with these systems and and they are not super new, but it surprised me that this good idea hasn't gone farther, faster - and I thought it's time to replicate it elsewhere!
Pretty certain the cup in the picture is not made of polystyrene. Looks more like HDPE or some other plastic.
I think this is great. Hope the idea keeps spreading.
Can anyone give me companies who manufature recycling kiosks in Europe
i am interested in buying some in Greece
it seems only Tomra manufactures. but they are not interested to sell in Greece so I have to find another one.
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I had a hard time trying to track down this information. Wouldn't it be worth calling Tivoli to see who manufactured their kiosks??