Liverpool supporters on their Champions League trip to Austria found an unexpected source of income after LASK's deposit system for reusable drinking cups turned discarded beer cups into cash, according to reports.
Many fans reportedly spent the evening and the post-match period collecting cups from the stands and concourses in order to claim the cashback.
The Austrian club has promoted a plastic-free stadium model and relies on a deposit system to encourage the return of reusable containers.
The episode places a spotlight on returnable packaging in large-event venues. UEFA says it is placing greater emphasis on circular-economy measures across its club competitions, while Liverpool has been publicising its own recycling record at Anfield, stating that more than one million plastic bottles have been recycled there over the past three seasons.
The reported cup-collecting shows how a deposit incentive can drive returns at high-attendance events, although the scale of the environmental benefit at the LASK match has not been quantified in the reports.