At festivals, there are often many guests, many food stalls and a large use of disposable services.
At the Sustainability Festival Aalborg 2024, the MoLo Hubs Project tested whether a new deposit box could be used as a solution for using reusable packaging and avoiding disposable packaging.
The new deposit box was tested by food and drinks stalls, visitors and organizers of the festival, and they all gave useful feedback. The test was carried out in collaboration between Aalborg Municipality, Homerunner, and New Loop.
All food and drink strands at the Sustainability festival were required to use reusable packaging and serve their food and drinks in deposit take away packing. Most of the food was served in bowls, trays, and cups. Coffee was served in cups. Beer and soda were served in mugs. The new type of deposit box accepted all types of deposit take away packaging.
A total of 944 packages were delivered to the deposit box during the 5 days of the sustainability festival.
Returned packaging in the deposit boxes:
- Small cups: 302 pcs.
- Medium cups: 225 pcs.
- Mugs: 217 pcs.
- Bowls: 168 pcs.
- Trays: 32 pcs.
It was possible for the guests to donate the value of their packaging to a NGO: Plastic Change. 12.4% of the users chose to donate their deposit to Plastic Changes.
How it worked
The deposit box could accept all the different types of packaging, and the guests got their deposit back by an electronic transfer. To get the deposit back, the QR code on the box had to be scanned with the camera on a phone, after which the user entered a web app. In the web app, the user had to enter credit card information so that the money could go directly into their bank account. Then the QR code of the packaging had to be scanned. It was possible to scan several packages one after the other. Finally, the scans just had to be approved, and the payment went directly to the user's account.
The deposit packages were collected in a container with a bag in it, which was easy to take out and replace with a new bag. The packages in the bag was easily transported in a van, cargo bike, or other types of vehicle with a cargo area.
The deposit box is built to accept all types of returnable packaging, from coffee cups to pizza boxes. The system is designed as an open system that can be used for packaging from different manufacturers.
Martin Quintero Hansen | Aalborg Municipality
Feedback to the system
Overall, the test went really well. Everything can be a bit difficult and demanding the first time, and that was also the reality for some of the users in the test. It took some time to enter the credit card information if the user did not have Apple Pay on the phone. This part is being developed so that Google Pay also becomes an option. Several users wanted a MobilePay integration.
It may be advantageous to place several deposit boxes in the same place and not spread them on a larger festival area. This would ease the flow and cause less queue.
Advantages and disadvantages of the deposit box and returnable packaging:
Future Perspectives
This was just a small test. Therefore, it could be interesting to test the system on a larger scale and in other setups:
- Test at a larger event, e.g., an event at the harbor or at a festival, concert, or sports event.
- Test in the open urban space in collaboration with Aalborg City, cafes, and restaurants.
- Test at municipal institutions where disposable packaging is used for coffee and tea today.
- Test at regional institutions such as a hospital.
Source & Pictures: Aalborg Municipality