Greening the Games: Which cities are setting new standards for sustainability at the World Cup? – The Environment Journal

By Anthony Merante

A reuse renaissance is underway this summer in Toronto and Vancouver during the World Cup — and it could be the turning point for municipal waste policy. The hidden impact of single-use waste generation at major events comes head-to-head with a solution that was once commonplace — reuse.

The FIFA World Cup 26™ will draw thousands of visitors to Canada this year, and with them a potential mountain of single-use trash. Imagine the large volume of beer, soft drinks, and fast food served in disposable cups, trays, and wrappers along with utensils, all designed to be used for only minutes before being thrown away. Most would end up in landfill or, worse, the environment — places like lakes, rivers, and the ocean. The scale of trash adds up quickly.

Toronto’s BMO Field holds 45,000 fans, and Vancouver’s BC Place holds around 50,000. Combined with their respective Fan Festivals, which expect to see 25,000 visitors a day over the course of the tournament, that means thousands of single-use products used per game, and millions by the final whistle.

But there is another model taking shape in the Canadian host cities — one built around reuse. Instead of cheap, single-use plastic products like cups being discarded after a few minutes, more durable versions are used, then collected, washed, sanitized, restocked, and reused again and again and again. As in many restaurants and homes, the dishware goes in the washer, not the bin.

Reusable systems were the norm until single-use products became widespread in the 1970s. Milk was delivered in reusable bottles, and soft drinks were served in refillable glass containers. These reuse and refill systems supported local jobs in collection, delivery, washing, and sales. The shift to single use replaced circular local systems with linear supply chains that span international borders and often end in landfill, all in the name of “convenience.” It begs the question what is convenient about pollution and job loss?

Toronto and Vancouver’s Fan Festivals will integrate reusable systems for beverages at one of the largest sporting events in the world, demonstrating that Canada’s biggest cities can revive a practical solution to waste while creating local green jobs.

The City of Toronto has invested in a local company to deliver a reusable cup program, diverting hundreds of thousands of single-use products from landfill. It is also installing free water refill stations across FIFA venues, which could avoid the use of up to half a million single-use water bottles.

Vancouver is moving in the same direction. Its Fan Festival will feature multiple local reuse companies delivering reusable cups and water refill stations — eliminating hundreds of thousands of single-use products during the games. BC Place was also just announced as Canada’s first stadium to deliver a venue-wide reuse program for beverages during concerts and sporting events in its regular season.

Reuse is moving beyond small pilot projects and becoming a scalable solution to municipal problems like litter and overflowing landfills. Now imagine if all cities across Canada made reuse the norm again.

Instead of just supporting small pilots of reuse in an ad hoc manner, city councils can pass reuse bylaws that apply to major events, large entertainment venues, and other high-volume, single-use waste generating businesses. Sound impossible or too complicated? It isn’t — and five cities in Canada are already leading the way.

Victoria, Edmonton, Banff, and Terrebonne have all passed municipal bylaws requiring on-site orders at restaurants to be served on reusable foodservice ware — turning fast-food chains into classic sit-down restaurants and eliminating hundreds of millions of single-use products from the waste stream. In Montréal, organizers of major events can only obtain operating permits if they provide infrastructure for water refill stations and deliver beverages in reusable cups — and it works. Some of Canada’s largest events, such as Osheaga, the Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada, and the Montréal International Jazz Festival, have been doing this for years.

Reuse is no longer a niche environmental idea. The infrastructure exists, the opportunity is here, and the policies are being tested across Canada. The economic and environmental benefits are clear.

The real question is whether cities will continue designing systems built for the garbage bin — or build systems designed to be used again and again and again.

Anthony Merante is Senior Plastics Campaigner for Oceana Canada.

Featured photo credit: Getty Images

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