Cup deposit schemes: what return rates actually look like

What return rate should an event expect?

Do not begin with a borrowed industry average. The published UK evidence does not provide one standard percentage that can be applied safely to every festival, stadium, pub or campus. Reported results come from different settings and use different return systems. 1 2 3 4 A fenced event with controlled bars is not the same as a network of cafes spread across a region. A cup exchanged during an event is not the same as a cup recovered after the final drink.

For planning purposes, set a provisional target only after defining the metric. Run a pilot where possible, reconcile the physical stock and use that result as the baseline for the next event. Published case studies can show what is possible and where schemes fail, but they should not be averaged into a supposed national norm.

The most useful benchmark is your own audited event result. Record how many unique cups enter circulation, how many are exchanged, how many usable cups are recovered and how many remain unaccounted for after the stated return window.

What published UK schemes report

Published UK results show why context matters.

Manchester Food and Drink Festival

Manchester City Council's event guide does not publish an overall return rate for the festival. It reports that raising the historical deposit from £1 in 2018 to £2 in 2019 improved the cup loss rate by 50%. That is a relative improvement in losses, not a 50% return rate, and it is one historical event result rather than a current deposit recommendation. 1

UCL East Return-to-Earn

UCL trialled a £1 deposit across four campus cafes, with refunds available at designated return points. It reported that 79% of reusable cups were returned and that disposable cups fell to 15% of purchases by the end of the trial. Return rate and disposable share are separate measures, and the setting was a university campus rather than a festival. 2

Highland Cup Movement

The Highland Cup Movement used an app-tracked borrow-and-return network across participating businesses. Its report records 1,051 cup checkouts by 269 users and a 92% return rate. Customers could return cups across the network, and the model allowed a return window rather than using an on-site cash refund. 3

Imperial College London

Imperial trialled a £2 refundable deposit with a seven-day return window at one campus cafe. It says the trial exceeded an 85% return rate, while also reporting the loss of up to 1,000 cups, more than 80% of its inventory, over six months. The page does not define the two denominators in enough detail to reconcile them. 4

It would be misleading to average these percentages. They cover different customer journeys, return windows, site layouts and reporting methods. Some describe completed loans, while others discuss physical inventory or the share of drinks served in disposable cups.

Why a high return rate can hide losses

One physical cup can be borrowed, returned, washed and borrowed again many times. Each successful loan may count towards a transaction return rate, but the operator still needs to know how many physical cups remain at the end.

A practical report should keep at least four measures separate:

1. Transaction return rate: qualifying returns divided by completed loans.
2. Event recovery rate: usable physical cups recovered after the event divided by the unique cups released from secured stock.
3. Stock loss rate: cups that remain unaccounted for after the stated return window divided by the unique cups released.
4. Reuse turns: drinks served in reusable cups divided by the unique cups released.

Record damaged or rejected cups separately. Otherwise, an unusable cup may appear to be a successful return even though it cannot re-enter circulation.

Exchanges need their own count too. When a customer swaps a used cup for a clean one, the dirty cup has returned to the bar, but the customer still holds another cup. Counting that exchange as final recovery would overstate the number retained when the site closes.

Imperial College's published result illustrates the problem. The institution reported a return rate above 85%, yet also reported cumulative losses of more than 80% of inventory over its six-month trial. 4 The source does not provide enough detail to calculate a corrected rate, but it makes the reporting lesson clear: reconcile the physical stock as well as the transactions.

Cup design can affect the stock calculation. Manchester City Council's guide says branded cups are more likely to be kept as souvenirs than generic stock, and recommends balancing branded and unbranded cups where retaining stock for reuse is the priority. 1 A retained cup may be covered financially by its deposit, but it is still unavailable for the next reuse cycle.

What improves returns?

A deposit creates a reason to bring the cup back, but it cannot compensate for a return process that is hard to find or poorly explained.

Manchester City Council's guide says high retention is easier where customers are likely to order several drinks, the event has a defined boundary and the organiser has overall control of the bars or cup types in use. The same guide identifies advance communication, bar signage and effective staff briefings as critical parts of a deposit scheme. 1

Use that evidence as an operating checklist:

1. Explain the scheme before the first sale. Tell customers that the first transaction includes a refundable cup deposit, where refunds are available and when the return points close.
2. Make every bar follow the same process. Staff should use the same words and the same exchange procedure. Mixed messages create avoidable uncertainty.
3. Put return points on natural exit routes. Customers should not need to walk against the departing crowd or find a hidden service desk to recover their deposit.
4. Keep final-return points open for audience departure. The last drink creates the most important return, so plan staffing around the end of service as well as peak bar sales.
5. Separate exchanges from refunds. A used-for-clean exchange keeps the customer in the system. A final return closes the deposit.
6. Decide whether cups are stock or souvenirs. If the scheme depends on repeated reuse, extensive event-specific branding may work against retention. 1
7. Audit each bar and return point. Record stock issued, transfers, returns, rejects and closing stock. Do not rely on retained deposit revenue as a proxy for cup loss.

Deposit value can affect behaviour, but the Manchester guide also says communication may be more important than the price point itself. 1

If you are choosing a format for a closed-loop event, compare the available festival cup options alongside the return process. The cup, deposit, bar operation and washing plan need to work as one system.

How to measure a cup scheme

Create the measurement plan before cups reach the bars. At minimum, record:

• opening usable stock
• cups released to each bar
• transfers between bars or storage areas
• drinks served in reusable cups
• used-for-clean exchanges
• final returns and refunds
• damaged or rejected cups
• unused stock returned
• closing usable stock
• cups still inside an agreed late-return window
• cups unaccounted for when that window closes

State the denominator beside every published percentage. A return percentage is more useful when the reader can also see how many cups were issued, whether repeat loans were counted, how long customers had to return them and whether damaged cups were included.

For a multi-day event, reconcile each day as well as the event overall. That makes it possible to identify a weak exit point, an inconsistent bar or a service period where losses rise. It also stops a good day from hiding an operational problem elsewhere.

The Manchester guide's operating model includes controlled distribution, collection of used cups and an audit of stock and losses. It also asks organisers to decide whether washing happens on site, daily off site or in bulk after the event. 1 Build those movements into the ledger so cups being washed are not misclassified as missing.

Plan stock, washing and production dates together. Check the current lead times before fixing the operational schedule, especially if artwork or several cup sizes are involved.

Reusable deposits and the national DRS

A voluntary deposit on a reusable event cup and the national Deposit Return Scheme are different systems.

A festival or venue deposit keeps reusable cups in circulation for washing and further use. Current GOV.UK guidance says the statutory Deposit Return Scheme will apply from 1 October 2027 to certain single-use drinks containers in England and Northern Ireland. The listed materials are aluminium, steel and PET plastic, with capacities from 150 millilitres to 3 litres. Containers that are not single use are excluded. 5

The same guidance says similar responsibilities will apply in Scotland under separate Scottish legislation and guidance, and links separately to information for Wales. 5

The distinction matters. Running a voluntary return system for reusable open cups does not describe a business's duties for any in-scope packaged drinks it also produces or sells. Organisers should check the current government and deposit management organisation guidance for those products rather than treating the two deposits as interchangeable.

A useful reusable cup scheme is not the one with the most impressive isolated percentage. It is the one that defines its measure, makes returning simple and can account for its physical cups when the event ends.

To plan the product side, view the festival cup range or compare all cups. For a scheme-specific brief, contact Cup Heroes.