CUP4CARE
- CARE Belgium
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Festivals are synonymous with joy, music, and shared experiences. Yet when the music fades, the waste remains. Each summer, Belgian festivals generate massive amounts of trash especially from single-use or deposit cups that never make it back to collection points. From disposable plastics to overflowing bins, the celebration leaves behind a pressing environmental challenge: how to manage the mountains of waste it creates.
Through CARE Belgium’s new initiative launched in 2025, CUP4CARE, CARE Belgium offers a simple yet powerful solution. One that unites sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and community engagement.
A win for people and the planet
CUP4CARE invites festival-goers to become part of something bigger. Upon purchasing a drink, attendees receive a deposit-based cup. Instead of reclaiming their deposit, they are encouraged to donate it to CARE Belgium by returning the cup to clearly marked collection points across the festival grounds. Through a series of creative challenges, live updates and engaging social media content, CARE Belgium turns a small action into tangible support for humanitarian initiatives.
The beauty of CUP4CARE lies in its simplicity. It allows festivals to reduce their environmental footprint and support a meaningful cause, without incurring extra costs. Participating festivals benefit from lower waste management expenses, improved brand image and greater appeal to sustainability-minded sponsors and audiences.
Aligning festivals with the SDGs
This initiative fits within CARE Belgium’s broader sustainability strategy and commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
CUP4CARE directly contributes to:
SDG 1 : No Poverty and SDG 2: Zero Hunger by supporting CARE’s humanitarian programmes
SDG 5 : Gender Equality as a cross-cutting priority across all CARE’s interventions
SDG 13 : Climate Action by reducing waste and promoting environmentally responsible behaviour
Festivals that join the CUP4CARE movement demonstrate leadership in sustainability and CSR, creating measurable impact in areas that matter most.
A successful start at La Fête de la Musique
The first edition of CUP4CARE was launched in collaboration with Conseil de la Musique during La Fête de la Musique 2025. Festival-goers embraced the concept, sharing photos at CARE’s collection points and taking part in fun cup-related challenges. Most importantly, the donations made possible by this initiative are now directly supporting CARE’s humanitarian work, proving that collective action, even through something as small as a cup, can have global impact.
From waste to solidarity
CUP4CARE turns a necessary festival feature into a force for good. The initiative offers a concrete solution to a real logistical challenge. By collecting a share of reusable cups that would otherwise go unreturned, it supports the festival’s waste management efforts and reduces the workload and cost for cleaning crews.
At the same time, it creates space for solidarity: each donated cup becomes a small but meaningful contribution to CARE Belgium’s humanitarian work. For festivals, CUP4CARE offers an easy and visible way to combine environmental responsibility with social impact.
Let’s make a difference, one cup at a time!
Want to know more? Do you want to take part in the initiative? CARE Belgium is actively looking for festivals to partner with us as well as for volunteers!
Contact:
Ferentz Almasy
Program Manager
Mary Einbinder
Partnerships and Communications Manager
