Schalke criticised – only Bundesliga club without reusable cups

The German Environmental Aid (DUH) criticises Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04 for sticking to disposable plastic cups.

Sustainability is also a hotly debated topic in the Bundesliga. There are positive developments, but not everywhere. In football, the use of disposable plastic cups in stadiums was particularly criticised.

17 out of 18 first division clubs have now switched to a reusable system. This was the result of a survey by the Deutsche Umwelthilfe (German Environmental Aid) among all Bundesliga clubs. Mainz and Augsburg have already decided to switch, but will initially use up the remaining stocks. “This is a great success for the environment and the result of our many years of campaigning against single-use plastic waste in sport,” said Federal Executive Director Barbara Metz in a press release.

Those responsible for the traditional club must put a stop to this plastic insanity

Barbara Metz

Substantial criticism is currently being levelled only at FC Schalke 04 – which is being dubbed a “disposable plastic offender”. “Only Schalke 04, as one of the most prominent Bundesliga clubs, does not take its responsibility for environmental protection seriously and continues to produce mountains of plastic waste,” criticises Metz, she demands at the same time: “Those responsible at the traditional club must put a stop to this plastic madness and immediately switch to environmentally friendly reusable cups. “

MSV must also make improvements

Just five years ago, ten clubs in the Bundesliga used disposable cups and thus produced 8.5 million plastic cups of waste per year.

While the Bundesliga has for the most part recognised the signs of the times, things look rather bleak in the 2nd Bundesliga and the 3rd Liga. Even though DUH does not yet have all the results, the trend is bad. At least six clubs still have disposable cups in circulation – including MSV Duisburg. The German Environmental Aid has announced that it will soon publish all the data. In addition, further analyses in other sports as well as in the women’s football league are in the works.