r.Cup, the award-winning turnkey reusable cup system built on r.Turn™ technology, is excited to announce its latest r.Cup Wash Hub facility in Denver. The r.Cup Wash Hub provides sustainable reusable cup and serveware services to any location that uses single-use waste, including venues, festivals, restaurants, food courts, airports and corporate campuses.
Founded in 2017, r.Cup targets the more than 4 billion single-use aluminum and plastic disposable cups used at live events in North America each year. These cups often end up in landfills and contribute to the current climate crisis. r.Cup is catalyzing the reuse movement using culture, logistics and technology, and debuted its reusable cup system with the support of artists and musicians including U2, Dave Matthews Band, Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Jack Johnson, Maggie Rogers, and others.
As the world’s most prominent sports and live entertainment company, AEG's industry-leading corporate sustainability program has remained at the forefront of environmental stewardship, most recently seen by their installation of r.Cup’s reuse system at four venues in Denver: Bluebird Theater, Gothic Theatre, Mission Ballroom and Ogden Theatre. r.Cup provides participating AEG venues with the reusable cup inventory, collection and sanitization needs for all shows - completely eliminating thousands of single-use and disposable cups each week.
“We can’t think of a better partner than AEG and their vast network of venues to set the stage, ignite the awareness and support needed to grow impact through reuse,” said Michael Martin, CEO and Founder of r.Cup. “It’s exciting to give guests an easy action they can take to help our environment while also helping our partners meet their zero waste and ESG goals.”
As part of their reuse program, r.Cup and AEG collaborated on a reusable cup designed to educate, engage and drive higher return rates, which results in a longer and more impactful reuse cycle. To drive brand loyalty, program participation, and increase excitement, each cup features a QR code that leads to a website that informs fans about AEG’s larger sustainability initiatives, while also providing interactive opportunities such as ticket giveaways.
“Sustainability has been a focus of operation for the Mission Ballroom since day one, and we are excited to see this partnership with r.Cup producing impactful results across all of our venues,” said Jake Hiersteiner, VP of Operations, AEG Presents Rocky Mountains. “A staggering amount of single-use plastic has been diverted from the waste stream, and response from patrons has been overwhelmingly positive. In a high volume, fast-paced environment, it can be difficult to implement meaningful change. This program is clearly hitting the mark. We hope that our patrons will take pride in their role in the process, and that this partnership adds to the quality concert experience we always aim to provide and improve.“
As another strategic partnership, r.Cup is bringing state of the art washing technology to Denver and leading the industry with its cutting-edge food safety and sanitization powered by Ecolab. Ecolab is the global leader in water, hygiene, and infection prevention and has been r.Cup’s strategic partner since launching in 2017. r.Cup and Ecolab share sustainability values and sanitization solutions that protect both people and vital resources.
In addition to placing its sustainability leadership into the Denver market, the r.Cup Wash Hub was built in an economic development zone with the goal of creating jobs and economic impact in underserved communities. r.Cup is working to staff up via the Second Chance Center in Denver with the goal to help formerly incarcerated individuals become successful members of the community. r.Cup has been activated at thousands of events in over 70 cities, 30 U.S. states, 12 countries and 90 venues to date. Globally recognized as sustainability innovators, reuse accolades include being named as a Fast Company World Most Innovative Company (2020), Fast Company World Changing Idea (2021) and The Reusies Most Innovative Company Honoree (2021).
