Tomorrowland Festival is facing a million-dollar fine for disposable cups
Tomorrowland in Belgium faces a potential €2 million fine for using single-use cups. "Single-use cups were used on the festival grounds, which violates environmental regulations and therefore constitutes an environmental crime," said a spokesperson from the Flemish Ministry of the Environment.
Reusable cups were only used in certain closed-off areas like the VIP section at the festival near Antwerp, one of the world's largest electronic music festivals.
Based on a report from the ministry, the public prosecutor's office will decide whether to pursue criminal charges or have the case handled by the environmental ministry's fines department. The fine could reach up to €2 million, with additional costs potentially including savings made by the festival from not complying with regulations. The estimated amount is currently over €1.5 million, according to the spokesperson.
In Flanders, the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium, events have been required to serve drinks in reusable containers since June 2023. Last year, exceptions were allowed if organizers still had a stock of single-use cups - even Tomorrowland had a special dispensation from the environmental ministry.
According to the Belgian news agency Belga, the festival intended to use up their remaining stock of single-use cups this year. There were also many practical issues with reusable cups, they said.
The Commission initially granted Tomorrowland a dispensation to use single-use cups last year. Despite this, The Commission has now found Tomorrowland in breach of environmental regulations due to the use of single-use cups on the festival grounds.
