Bettercup Blog

The decision to abolish Sustainability Victoria has landed quietly for some, and with a resounding thud for others. For a change of this scale, there has been very little mainstream analysis and almost no serious interrogation of what replaces it. The limited media coverage has focused on job impacts, rather than the longer term consequences […]

Plastic. Sigh, we know. Ban plastic, #plasticfree. Plastic is still a huge part of our lives in general, whether we like it or not. The way it’s made is a bit unfortunate too- usually derived from coal, natural gas and crude oil. The bettercup journey has taught us more about plastic and manufacturing than we […]

There’s a pattern we see constantly in the events and hospitality space, and I think it deserves a name. An event organiser or venue operator knows single-use cups are wasteful, they’ve seen the data, they understand the environmental cost, and many of them genuinely want to do better. But when it comes time to actually […]

Shifting from single-use to reuse systems, like cups at events or in venues, isn’t just about having the right product. The real challenge is preventing those cups from ending up in bins, going home with people, or getting broken in the crowd- these losses have a huge impact on the financial and environmental viability of […]

The latest report from Upstream makes a bold call: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes need to prioritise reuse over recycling if we want real change in packaging waste. It argues that while recycling has dominated the conversation for decades, true waste reduction comes from designing packaging to be used again and again, not just collected […]

Those ‘compostable’ cups you keep seeing at festivals, events and markets? Not as compostable as you might think! Many ‘bioplastics’ i.e. compostable single use cups, need industrial scale composters to be able to break down as they are not accepted by many Councils’ food and green waste services.  Compostable plastics can also contaminate recycling systems, […]

We’re big on keeping things local at bettercup – and not just because it feels good to support our local community, but because it’s the foundation of how we stay true to our mission: eliminating single-use waste while delivering top-quality, reusable products. When Sam and I started Bettercup, we knew local manufacturing would be an […]

First published 2024. The list of grants and funding available to Australian events and festivals is updated as of January 2026. Amid some of the hardest times for festivals and events in Australia, a range of measures are being rolled out nationwide to support the industry to bolster pre-existing funding programs already in place.  The […]

For those of you that don’t know us, welcome! My name is Sam, and I’m the co-founder of bettercup. You can see mine and my co-founder Christie’s story here. I’m writing to you from bettercup’s wash hub in Keysborough, Vic. We recently got a Sustainability Victoria Grant to upgrade our washing and reusable cup manufacturing, […]

Welcome to our goodchat. series, where we’ll be interviewing people in the music, events and sustainability space about how they got to where they are, what inspires them and what’s next. Berish Bilander is a passionate campaigner, an accomplished musician with an Honours degree from WAAPA, a music teacher for 12 years and has toured […]

Welcome to our goodchat. series, where we’ll be interviewing people in the music, events and sustainability space about how they got to where they are, what inspires them and what’s next. For the first #goodchat, Sam spoke with Jason (Jace), carpenter, Earthship builder and founder of the wonderful organisation B-Alternative who provide practical solutions to […]

I feel like 99% of the people that care about the environment are also hypocrites. There. I said it and that also includes myself. But wait, please let me explain. In today’s world, unless you are living completely off grid and somewhat removed from society it’s hard to live completely green – and sometimes, yes, […]