Liverpool supporters found an unexpected way to collect cash during their Champions League trip to Austria, according to reports, after LASK’s deposit system for reusable drinking cups allowed fans to gather discarded cups and claim the refund.
Many fans reportedly spent the evening and the period after the match collecting cups from the stands and concourses to obtain the cashback. The Austrian club has promoted a plastic-free stadium model and uses a deposit system to encourage the return of reusable containers.
The account highlights how deposit-return arrangements can shape spectator behaviour on matchdays. By attaching a refund to each reusable cup, the system gives fans a reason to bring containers back instead of leaving them behind. LASK’s model is presented as part of efforts to reduce plastic waste at the stadium, although the report does not give details of the deposit amount, the number of cups returned or the overall environmental result.
UEFA says it is placing greater emphasis on circular-economy measures at its club competitions. Liverpool has also been publicising its own recycling record at Anfield, saying that more than one million plastic bottles have been recycled there over the past three seasons.
The supporters’ cup collecting was an incidental activity during the away match, rather than a club-organised collection scheme, according to the available account.