Sustainable serveware with DISHrupt
2026 is shaping up to be another big year for DISHrupt, Sustainable Queenstown’s reusable serveware initiative that’s helping transform how our community runs events.
If you were at the Lake Hayes A&P show a couple of weeks ago, you may have seen DISHrupt in action. Despite challenging weather, the DISHrupt team worked alongside stallholders and organisers to replace single use cups, plates and cutlery with reusable alternatives, diverting nearly 4,000 items from landfill in just one weekend. It’s an excellent reminder that even at big, busy events, reusables are not only possible, they work!
That impact adds up quickly. Across festivals, markets, sporting events and community gatherings, DISHrupt now diverts more than 50,000 single use items from landfill every year. That’s tens of thousands of cups, plates and forks that don’t end up in bins or buried in landfill, achieved through practical systems, good planning, and a team who understands events inside out.
DISHrupt isn’t just for large scale events. One of the most exciting developments is the expansion of our hire only service, designed to make reusable serveware accessible and affordable for the wider community. Lightweight plates, coffee cups and cutlery are available for weddings, birthdays, meetings, workshops and small gatherings across the region.
This matters because even compostable serveware isn’t the solution many people expect. With no commercial composting facilities in the region, most compostable plates and cups still end up in landfill, and they’re still designed to be used once and thrown away. Reusables remain the most effective and genuinely low-impact option, and DISHrupt makes it easy.
The hire only service is simple, collect clean, ready to use serveware, enjoy your event without waste guilt, and return it afterwards to be washed and reused again. There are no overflowing bins, no confusion for guests, and no greenwashing.
DISHrupt exists to support a future where waste free events are the norm, not the exception. Whether it’s a major A&P show or a backyard celebration, every reused cup counts, and every choice to avoid single use helps build a stronger, more resilient community.
To hire DISHrupt serveware for your next event, email DISHrupt Operations Manager Ella Peacock at dishrupt@sustainablequeenstown.org.nz and help support Sustainable Queenstown’s work in the community at the same time.
