Food is an essential part of Göteborgs Kulturkalas, and every year thousands of servings of food and drink are enjoyed by hungry festival visitors. But how can we do this without leaving behind piles of single-use waste?

For several years, Kulturkalaset has been testing different ways to reduce waste, and today, single-use-free serving is an important part of our sustainability efforts. The goal? To reduce our climate footprint while paving the way for others, in Gothenburg and across the country, towards more sustainable events. Here, you can read about the single-use-free serving over the past two years.

Big test 2024

During Kulturkalaset 2024, we took a major step forward in our sustainability work. The entire area around Kungstorget and Basargatan became a test zone for the project “Single-use Free for the Climate.” The initiative was carried out in collaboration with the Street Food Festival and Light My Fire Borrow, and was part of the Music Industry Resilience Acceleration Programme (MI-RAP). Supported by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme and the European Union. The solution was based on reusable items made of durable hard plastic that can withstand 400 washes before being recycled and used again.

93,000 single-use items avoided

There were around 60 food trucks in the area, all part of the Street Food Festival. Meals were served on reusable plates with “sporks”. After use, the dishes were returned to one of the washing stations on site. Everything was then washed in a professional dishwasher, similar to those used in restaurants, consuming the same amount of water. Each plate was washed an average of 6.5 times during the festival. In total, as many as 93,000 single-use items were avoided.

16% loss of reusable items

Although the project was successful, it also came with certain challenges. It turned out to be more difficult than expected to return all items to the collection stations, and around 16% of the plates and sporks went missing. The limited seating meant that many visitors walked to other areas to eat, which likely increased the loss. At the same time, the test provided valuable insights that became important when refining the method for the following year’s festival.

Single-Use-Free at Bältesspännarparken 2025

Building on the experiences from the 2024 test, several improvements were made ahead of Kulturkalaset 2025. The single-use-free area was moved to Bältesspännarparken. A smaller and more contained space that made it easier to manage the return flow. This time around, 30 food trucks took part in the initiative. As in the previous year, the project was carried out in collaboration with the Street Food Festival and Light My Fire Borrow.

Making it easier for festival visitors

More staff were present at the return stations and the signs was clearer, and the results were positive. Only 2% of the plates and 5% of the cups went missing – a significant improvement compared to last year. In addition, around 14,000 single-use items were also avoided.

-Our main focus has been to create a simple version that’s as user-friendly as possible for visitors. But of course, it’s not unthinkable to add another step to reduce losses even further. In Germany it’s common to have systems where visitors receive a kind of deposit refund when they return the reusable items,” says Filip Eklund, Sustainability Developer at Göteborg & Co.

Moving Forward Towards Reusable Events

After many years of testing different single-use-free solutions, Kulturkalaset has found a model that works in practice and can be scaled up even further.

-It’s not perfect yet, but we know where we need to strengthen our efforts to achieve the best possible results, says Filip Eklund.

For this approach to have a greater impact, more events need to follow. When more events work in the same way, costs can be shared, and the companies providing reusable solutions will have greater confidence in investing in the business model.

-It’s important now that more events follow Kulturkalaset’s lead. It’s probably only when many events and organisations adopt the same approach that a sustainable economy can truly emerge, Filip explains.

Expanding the Approach

He believes that the way forward involves not only that Kulturkalaset will keep sharing knowledge and experience, but also encouraging the city to take a stronger stance in requiring events to use reusable solutions on a larger scale.

-We need to work together on this. We have legislation, experience and knowledge to build on — but Gothenburg may also need to set clearer requirements when granting the use of city spaces to organisers. It’s likely only when more join in that the transition towards single-use-free events can really gain momentum, says Filip Eklund.