Reusable cups at events: cash deposit, eco-token or QR Refund?
Status on 12 November 2026: single-use drink containers are banned at Flemish events since 15 June 2023, with an exception for PET bottles and cans until 1 January 2030. Source: OVAM, checked on 12 November 2026.
Reusable cups are the rule at events in Flanders, so the real choice is how you get them back.
You have three routes: a cash deposit, an eco-token or a digital deposit. The digital deposit goes back onto the cashless card, onto the bank card or through a QR Refund.
Our advice: choose your route by your site. A closed site with one bar can work with cash or an eco-token; an open site with many bars needs a digital deposit.
- Single-use drink containers are banned at Flemish events since 15 June 2023.
- You must collect at least 90% of your reusable cups for reuse.
- A cash deposit motivates visitors but puts cash and fraud on your site.
- An eco-token avoids cash but loses the last cup.
- A digital deposit keeps the motivation and refunds without cash.
What do the Flemish rules require for reusable cups?
At Flemish events you serve drinks in reusable cups and must get at least 90% back for reuse, under Vlarema, the Flemish waste regulation.
- Since 15 June 2023: no drinks in single-use containers at events, except PET bottles and cans if at least 95% is collected separately for recycling.
- From 1 January 2030: that exception ends.
- Always: at least 90% of your reusable cups (glass and porcelain aside) must be collected for reuse. At events, that's the organiser's job.
An event is any public, temporary gathering for art, culture, sport or festivities, indoors too. A deposit system gets the cups back and gives you the count to show.
In 30 minutes we'll show you how a digital deposit and QR Refund work, with returns per return point live on screen.
Why does your deposit system decide your costs?
A lost cup costs you twice: you pay the supplier for it, and it counts against your collection target. On top of that, your system decides losses, refund fraud, queues at the bar and the hours spent counting and settling.
Cash deposit, eco-token or digital deposit: what's the difference?
A cash deposit motivates visitors but puts cash on site. An eco-token avoids cash but loses the last cup. A digital deposit keeps the motivation and drops the cash.
| Cash deposit | Eco-token | Digital deposit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash on site | A lot: coins at every return point | Little | None for the refund |
| Fraud | High: cup grabbing, payouts at the bar | Low: token has no cash value | Low: built-in fraud protection |
| Weak spot | Change, safety, queues at the end | The last cup has no value | Visitors must claim the refund |
| What you see | A cash count afterwards | Swaps, if you register them | Returns per point, per hour, live |
| Fits | Small events with one bar | Closed sites, strong eco-teams | City festivals, many bars, open sites |
When does a cash deposit or an eco-token fit?
A cash deposit works at small events where one bar sells and takes back every cup. On a big site, cash gets stolen or miscounted, and cups get picked off tables to cash in.
An eco-token fits closed sites with a crowd that plays along: one token at the entrance for a first cup, then an empty cup buys the next full one. Against late-night losses, organisers use eco-teams, a drink for every 20 cups handed in and staff at the exit.
At 12 Inch Lovers, every visitor gets one EcoToken with no purchase or cash value. Only a lost cup or token costs extra.
When does a digital deposit fit?
At city festivals, sites with many bars and any event where cups travel. The deposit is added to the order at the till.
- Closed loop: the deposit goes back onto the cashless card or wristband in real time.
- Open loop: straight back to the bank card, or the visitor gets a QR Refund to claim it themselves.
- Separate return point: the visitor gets a QR Refund, also next to other tills, as at Sinksen and Bollekesfeest.
Our cashless refund module has built-in fraud protection. Our Borro integration for reusable cups ties the deposit to the payment and tracks every return. New to the loop words? Read open loop, closed loop or hybrid payments.
How does QR Refund work at a return point?
Cups in, a printed QR code out, money back by phone.
Every return point is connected. You see returns per point live and can cancel a refund that looks like fraud.
What happens to unclaimed deposits?
You set the claim period and decide where unclaimed deposits go, and you publish both before visitors pay a deposit.
Within 14 working days after the period ends, you get a statement. The money set aside for refunds that wasn't paid out comes back to you, under our terms and conditions.
How many cups come back?
Most of them. In the first figures of our digital deposit, only 9.8% of reusable cups weren't returned, as we wrote in May 2023, when we were still called Wat Drink Je?. Visitors took some of those home and eco-teams picked up others.
A question about cup deposits became a strategic partnership for all our events. Beyond Ordering truly thinks along with us, bringing peace of mind, transparency and sustainability to everything we do.
In practice: Sinksen Kortrijk
The event: Sinksen Kortrijk is a free four-day city festival with around 200,000 visitors. With logistics partner CUPernicus, it put 350,000 reusable cups into use.
The challenge: visitors could hand in cups on any square. A cash refund would have meant tens of thousands of one-euro coins on the street.
The setup: standalone QR Refund setups at the return points, synced across all squares. The bars kept their own tills and terminals.
The result: the refund ran fully cashless, and the city and CUPernicus settled fairly per square afterwards. Unclaimed deposits paid a large part of the cup costs: rental, washing, loss and handling.
Bollekesfeest Antwerpen used the same flow for 200,000 visitors and 110,000 reusable cups.
Also running on Beyond Ordering: 12 Inch Lovers, Lokerse Feesten and Couleur Café.
Checklist: which route do you choose?
- Is your site closed, or can visitors walk out with a cup?
- How many bars and return points will you have?
- Do visitors pay by card, cashless card or cash?
- How will you count returns to show the 90% Vlarema target?
- What happens to unclaimed deposits, and who gets them?
Frequently asked questions
Are reusable cups mandatory at events in Flanders?
Yes, since 15 June 2023. Until 1 January 2030 there's an exception for PET bottles and cans if 95% is collected separately, says OVAM's page on the rules for drink and food packaging.
What is QR Refund?
A printed voucher or QR code the visitor uses to claim their money on their phone, by entering their IBAN. It's used for cup deposits at return points, and in open loop when the deposit doesn't go straight back to the bank card.
What is an eco-token?
A token without cash value that every visitor gets at the entrance. It buys a first cup; after that, an empty cup buys the next full one.
What are the alternatives to plastic cups at festivals?
Glass or porcelain where safety allows, which OVAM prefers, or reusable plastic. Reusable PP cups are best for the environment from about ten uses, says OVAM's guide for event organisers.
Plan your 2027 cup deposit
Choose your route before you call your cup supplier. Our festival and event setup covers the bar, the payments and the cup deposit.
In a 30-minute demo we look at your site, your bars and your cup partner. Rather ask a question first? Get in touch.
Reusables without the hassle
Deposit, eco-token or QR Refund: in 30 minutes we look at your site, your bars and your cup partner, and pick the route that fits.
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