Glastonbury Festival launches reusable pint cups to help UK steel industry

The cups will be available at Glastonbury for a £5 deposit

Organisers have ordered over 200,000 reusable cups made from Sheffield stainless steel and manufactured at APS in Birmingham (Glastonbury)

Glastonbury is doing its bit to help the beleaguered UK steel industry at this year's festival.

Organisers have ordered over 200,000 reusable cups made from Sheffield stainless steel and manufactured at APS in Birmingham, which used to make Land Rover parts.

Michael Eavis, the founder of Glastonbury, has said he was motivated by a desire to help the UK steel industry at a time when jobs were being put at risk.

"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," Eavis said.

“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 if the jobs, skills and infrastructure are lost they won’t be replaced. We’ve worked on this 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.”

The cups will be available at Glastonbury for a £5 deposit. When festival-goers need a refill, they will be able to swap their cup for a fresh one.

Lucy Smith, Glastonbury's green initiatives and sustainability co-ordinator, compared the scheme to 5p plastic bags.

"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," she said.

One in six jobs in the UK steel industry is under threat because of a global oversupply caused by overproduction from China.

China is producing so much steel that some Chinese companies are selling their steel abroad at a loss, because there isn’t enough demand in China. UK companies cannot compete with these prices and jobs are being lost as a result.