Two concert venues in Los Angeles are becoming more sustainable by switching to a full-time, reusable drinking cup program.
AEG will implement the program at Crypto.com Arena and Peacock Theater following a test run at two Depeche Mode concerts this past December. Through the program, AEG will team up with hospitality partner Levy to replace all single-use cups at its food and beverage destinations with products from r.World.
So, how does it work?
The used plastic cups will be collected in specially-marked bins. From there, they’ll be taken to a nearby r.World industrial wash hub facility, where they’ll be cleaned before returning to the venues. Previously, an average of 15,000 cups were used per event at Crypto.com arena, a spokesperson said, which were recycled.
During the test run at Depeche Mode’s gigs on December 15 and 17, AEG said a total of 23,418 single-use cups were avoided, which equated to eliminating 355 pounds of carbon dioxide.
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“We are excited to be the first arena in Southern California to introduce a full-time, reusable-cup program as it came to us via our AEG Sustainability team,” Lee Zeidman, president of Crypto.com Arena, Peacock Theater and L.A. Live, said in a statement.
Currently, the r.Cup program operates in 84 permanent venues, as well as 275 stand-along events and festivals in the U.S. each year. It is in place at 10 other AEG venues and Goldenvoice music festivals; since the company began working with r.World in 2021, it has avoided over 3.5 million single-use cups.
The program officially rolls-out during the Los Angeles Sparks WRNBA game at Crypto.com Arena on August 15, as well as the Young Miko concert at the Peacock Theater the same night.
Find more information about r.World here.