Club news
Written by: Joe
Something exciting is coming to the Dripping Pan this October…
Lewes FC would like to send a massive thanks to Lewes Town Council for working with us to deliver a sustainability drive that has seen an end to single-use plastic on matchdays at the Dripping Pan.
Our reusable cup scheme has been an overwhelming success with supporters, and we’re delighted so many fans have come on board and joined in.
To date, we have saved an estimated 9,000 single-use plastic cups (270 kg of toxins) from ending up in the bin.
But now the Town Council need their cups back. Bonfire is coming and those Refill Not Landfill cups are to be distributed across the pubs of Lewes, to cut single-use plastic waste on the town’s biggest night of the year.
We’ve therefore collaborated with Harvey’s Brewery to create something really exciting. On the weekend of 5 and 6 October, Lewes FC and Harvey’s will be releasing the first of many special designs for our very own reusable cups. If you bring your Refill Not Landfill cup back for one of the games, we’ll swap it straight away for our limited edition cup.
Of course, if you just want to have a cupboard clearout then we’ll happily take your cups, wash and dry them, and send them up Station Road to the Town Hall ready for Bonfire.
Our first limited edition cups will be available on:
• Saturday 5 October vs Bracknell Town (3pm)
• Sunday 6 October vs Plymouth Argyle (2pm)
For a limited time only, these cups will be available for £1 or free of charge when you exchange your previously purchased ‘Refill Not Landfill’ cup. We will swap your cup for a new Lewes FC x Harvey’s cup at the bar. After that weekend, the limited edition cups will be on sale in the new club shop.
October Cupboard Clearout
But it doesn’t end there! You’ll still be able to hand back your Refill Not Landfill cups after these dates, it’s just you won’t get the limited edition cup in return. Instead, you’ll receive a standard Lewes FC-branded reusable cup if you exchange on matchdays, which you can take home and bring back next time. Or, if you just want to clear out your cupboard then feel free to drop your cups off at any time in October.
You can drop off cups at any time at the Dripping Pan as part of Lewes Town Council’s Cup Amnesty, which aims to make it easier to clear out your cupboards and prevent reusable cups going in the bin.
Why are we using reusable cups?
While the majority of fans now understand and support our reusable cup campaign, our bar staff are still asked questions on matchday.
The cup scheme aims to dramatically reduce plastic waste and costs at the bar. It’s a lot like using your ‘bag for life’ at a supermarket. Remember when supermarkets brought those in and started charging 10p for a plastic bag? It took a bit of getting used to but eventually the initiative was deemed a success. Now, many of us head to the supermarket armed with bags from home. We want to encourage a similar reuse of your cups, like a reused bag, to keep your cupboards clear, and our carbon footprint as low as possible.
Current Cup Policy:
• New cups cost £1 at the bar. Once you buy it, it’s yours. You can take it home and reuse it next time, or hand it back, where it will be cleaned and dried, and put on sale for the next match.
- • If you exchange your Refill Not Landfill cup on 5 and 6 October you’ll get a new Lewes FC x Harvey’s cup for free. You own it! Bring it back as many times as you like, or leave it with us and we’ll wash it, and put it on sale in the club shop.
- • If you exchange a Refill Not Landfill cup after these dates then you’ll get a standard Lewes FC cup.
- • You are also more than welcome to bring your own cup to games! It just needs to have the pint line marked on.
- • All Refill Not Landfill cups collected at Lewes FC will be washed, dried and sent to the Town Hall, where they will be distributed to pubs ahead of Bonfire.
- • Can’t make it to a match? Use the Dripping Pan for the Town Council’s cup amnesty and drop off your unwanted cups at any point in October.