Public-private partnership puts reusable cups into play at Norway Cup 2026
Together with Norway Cup, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and their coffee brand Costa Coffee, and the City of Oslo, TOMRA Reuse provided a reusable system for fresh-brewed coffee served to parents and coaches at this summer’s massive youth football tournament.
Norway Cup is one of the world’s largest youth football tournaments, with 1,900 teams from 33 nations taking part in some 6,000 matches. The 30,000 players and hundreds of volunteers, parents and coaches spend an intense week at Ekebergsletta, a large grassy plateau located in the Nordstrand district, southeast of downtown Oslo.
Bringing the Aarhus experience to Oslo
Using REUSEABLE cups from Aarhus, fitted with an RFID chip to enable direct activation and deactivation of cups using the TOMRA Throw&Go™ solution, the system enabled customers to return cups individually or in stacks, both with and without lids, and would directly refund the NOK 10 deposit paid at the point of sale. Cup activations happen seamlessly, as cups are placed on the TOMRA Throw&GO™ barplates on the serving counter in the Costa Coffee stall.
“Norway Cup is a sports tournament for youth, for our future. Reducing our environmental footprint and making sustainable choices has been important for us since the inception in 1972. We’re proud to be able to test this solution during this year’s tournament, with support from TOMRA, Costa Coffee and the Municipality of Oslo,” said Frithjof Hübert, Head of Sustainability and CSR at Bækkelaget Sportsklubb, the Oslo football club organizing Norway Cup.
Coffee fuels the volunteers and coaches
Norway Cup means camping at the floor of municipal schools all over Oslo, going on the trams or buses in your football jersey together with teammates, coaches and guardians. It means early mornings at the pitch, playing teams from all over the world.
“We have parents and coaches lining up at our coffee stalls from seven in the morning throughout the tournament. We operated multiple stalls across the tournament area, and this year we joined forces with TOMRA Reuse to offer our coffee in reusable coffee cups at a main location where visitors could enjoy premium barista-made coffee. The response from customers was overwhelmingly positive: they loved the quality of the cup, and the convenience of fully automated returns and refunds using the return locations on site,” said Baard Tveito, Senior Manager, Commercial Sustainability, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), which owns Costa Coffee.
Oslo taking initial steps to make reuse the norm
In summer, the area – regulated as a municipal park – is used for a variety of large-scale events: in addition to the 54-year tradition of Norway Cup, the area is known to host some of Norway’s largest music festivals such as “Tons of Rock” and, this year, the extravagant three-day “Karpe World.” Ekebergsletta is one of several open public spaces and parks favored by event organizers during the summer months.
Protecting these spaces is a priority for the Municipality of Oslo, who recently announced that it will implement contractual requirements for everyone organizing public events on municipal ground in Oslo, to offer systems enabling reusable packaging solutions. The test project at Norway Cup this year was supported financially by the Municipality of Oslo.
Positive response from users
The TOMRA Reuse team were on call at Ekebergsletta during the tournament week, engaging with partners and users to introduce the system – and to record feedback on the user experience.
“This pilot shows what is possible when strong partners come together around a shared sustainability goal. Together with Norway Cup, Costa Coffee, Oslo Municipality and our other partners, we have made reuse simple and convenient for visitors while reducing the need for single-use cups,” said Louise Petri, Segment Lead for TOMRA Throw&Go™ at TOMRA Reuse.
The TOMRA Throw&Go™ system is also installed at Intility Arena in Oslo, a 17,000-seat football stadium close to the city center that hosts 30 to 40 matches every year.
How it works: A simple and effective way to reduce single-use packaging waste
The innovative system provided by TOMRA Reuse/Costa Coffee at Norway Cup made it easy for tournament attendees to enjoy a cup of coffee, return the empty cup, and contribute to reducing single-use packaging waste at the event.
Here’s how it worked:
- When purchasing a cup of coffee, a 10 NOK deposit fee was included in the price and linked to the payment card used to pay for the coffee.
- The deposit value was automatically linked to each cup when placed on the TOMRA Throw&Go™ Barplate, an RFID reader plate, when served to the customer.
- After enjoying their coffee, guests would return the empty cup in one of the TOMRA Throw&Go™ collection machines, directly initiating a refund to the linked payment card, and simultaneously deactivating the cup.
Cups could be returned either individually or in stacks. Either way, guests only had to drop the cups in the machine and go – the machine automatically recognized each cup and refunded the deposit to the respective bank cards used to purchase the drinks.
A dynamic partnership
Several partners, both public and private entities, contributed to providing a smooth reuse experience at Norway Cup this year:
Norway Cup – The world’s largest youth football tournament, bringing together thousands of young players from around the globe each year in Oslo.
Costa Coffee – Founded in 1971, Costa Coffee is the largest coffee retail chain in the UK and second largest in the world. It is owned by The Coca-Cola Company.
Oslo Municipality – The local government of Norway’s capital city, working to create a more sustainable and livable urban environment for residents and visitors.
Rene Glass – Specialists in washing and logistics for reusable cups and glasses, supporting circular solutions for festivals, venues, and large-scale events.
ESPOS – The leading Norwegian provider of event payment solutions and point-of-sale technology, helping create seamless customer experiences at festivals and large public events.
TOMRA Reuse – The TOMRA corporate venture developing technology and infrastructure that make reusable takeaway packaging convenient, traceable, and scalable for cities, venues, and events.
