RECYCLED pint cups are to be introduced at this year's Glastonbury Festival.

The scheme, the result of three years' of trial and research, will see more than 200,00 of the sustainable, recycled stainless steel cups in use at the event. 

Customers will pay a £5 deposit when they buy their first pint to get hold of one of the holders. 

Explains green initiatives and sustainability coordinator, Lucy Smith, said: “Everybody said we couldn’t do it with something on the scale of Glastonbury and it has been a major fight to get this scheme off the ground, dealing with everything from weights and measures to crushability tests.

“But for us it’s part of the reusable revolution.

"It’s very similar to paying 5p for a carrier bag. We think people will take to it.

"The pints are made by APS in Birmingham, and it was a significant part of the project to have them made with British stainless steel.”

Like most music festivals and big events the question of how to reduce the amount of waste – in particular pint beer cups – is a challenging one.  

But the stainless pints are the first of their kind and made of food grade 80 per cent recycled British stainless steel.

When festival goers need a refill, they will be able to swap their cup for a fresh one, and dirty pint mugs will be taken off site to a cleaning depot and then returned to the site.

Lucy added: “Michael (Eavis) wanted to support the British Steel industry, and what we got was much higher, more consistent quality.

"The difference is clear in the quality of the steel. APS made the cups on a press previously used to made Land Rover parts.”

The local support for the cup project extends to nearby Street, where acclaimed sheepskin and leather designer & manufacturers Owen Barry have been commissioned to provide 200,000 up-cycled ‘cup covers’ for the project.

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Festival organiser Michael Eavis said: “I’m told it’s a bit of a revolution for the outdoor events’ industry. 

"But for me, the single most important thing was being able to source British stainless steel for the cups from the place where it was invented – Sheffield, and then to take it on to the home of manufacture – Birmingham.

“Week after week, there’s a story in the national press about jobs in the UK steel industry being put at risk. There’s seemingly no end to the negative slide of this critical industry and with it the jobs, skills and infrastructure are lost and won’t be replaced.

“We’ve worked on a small project over the last three years, which will hopefully encourage other UK businesses to think about how they can support our steel industry during these very challenging times."