No venue manages to merge Glasgow’s industrial heritage with its vibrant cultural present like SWG3. A former galvanizers’ yard, with five spaces on its campus, The venue began life as artists’ studios before becoming a hub for art, design, music, fashion, food, shopping and nightlife. Glasgow’s legacy of industry is clear at SWG3. But so is the forward-thinking, modern Glasgow.
This is particularly clear with SWG3’s sustainability efforts. By 2025, they are aiming to power their events entirely with renewable energy. This is in part thanks to their BODYHEAT system that harnesses body heat from members of the audience.
As a venue, SWG3 is leading by example. That’s why, when they asked if Vegware could help them make their club nights more sustainable, we were only too happy to assist.
“Sustainability is really at the heart of everything we do. In 2021, we hosted the New York Times Climate Hub for Cop26, and that really kickstarted the conversation for us, about how we can do more to create a sustainable future. so yeah, since then we’ve been working towards going net zero, and making the venue as sustainable as it can be.”
Hannah George, Sustainability Coordinator, SWG3
Which cups work best?
In 2023, looking to reduce the amount of waste they produced, SWG3 swapped their single use plastic cups for reusable ones. Whilst this proved successful for gigs, a reuse system proved difficult to maintain for club nights. The nights provided limited opportunity for clubbers to return the cups and many were taken away from the venue. When trialled for club nights the venue lost a significant portion of their reusable cup stock.
Clearly, SWG3 needed an alternative solution for their club nights so they reached out to Vegware’s Environmental team.
“We really love our reusable cups, but, for our club events, they just weren’t a viable option operationally.”
Hannah George
Composting collections
Whilst it was clear that SWG3 couldn’t eliminate cups from their waste stream, they had an opportunity to switch away from traditional plastic cups. Vegware offered plant-based, renewable options and, with their Close the Loop service, provided a circular solution for the waste.
With Close the Loop, the cups could be collected and turned into high-grade compost at a facility just 50 miles from SWG3. The compost could then provide essential organic nutrients to arable land, landscape gardens and more. It was a solution that worked for SWG3 and its impact-conscious audience.
“I think it’s very, very important. We have a much more conscious audience, you know, when they see the initiatives we’ve got it gives them a positive outlook.”
Craig MacDonald, Bar Manager, SWG3
Having outlined the issues they were facing, Vegware’s Sales team worked with SWG3 to provide the products they required. The Environmental team worked with SWG3’s bar staff and cleaning teams to explain how the system worked and how to make it a success.
“The Vegware system has been really straightforward to implement, especially with the Vegware closed loop system, which has just kind of given us peace of mind that the cups are being recycled properly. The cups themselves are very similar products to what we were using before. So operationally, it’s been a very smooth transition.”
Hannah George
For SWG3, the introduction of a composting waste stream has been a huge success. It has provided a blueprint for how the venue can further reduce the amount of general waste they produce.
“SWG3 is a great example of how sites can take a pragmatic approach to waste in order to limit their impact. They have shown that reusable and compostable systems don’t need to be competing but can instead complement each other.”
Eilidh O’Connor, Head of Environmental, Vegware
Keen to compost?
Compostability will always be the focus for our entire range, with industry-leading certification and expertise to help clients Close the Loop. Just fill out a couple of details and we’ll be in touch with information about composting opportunities specific to your area.
