Posse in Tyrol

Curious cup dispute: Telfer carnival participants outraged

The "Kurpfuscher" group may also no longer be serving its cool blonde in disposable cups this carnival. A decision on the cup issue will be made in November.

(Bild: zVg)

The mayor of Telf, Christian Härting, wants to require the groups of the famous Schleicherlauf in the Oberland market town (district of Innsbruck-Land) to use environmentally friendly reusable cups for serving drinks on their floats. The Fasnachters are really annoyed by this.

After five years, the carnival groups will once again parade through the town on February 2, 2025 at the Telfer Schleicherlaufen. The groups are already building their floats for the three weekends beforehand. On nine evenings, the carnival revellers invite you to celebrate - and serve plenty of drinks.

"A mess everywhere"
Until now, disposable plastic cups have been used. However, carnival chairman Christian Härting now wants to break with this tradition. "After our village festivals, the cups are lying around everywhere, it's a big mess," says Härting, annoyed. That shouldn't happen (anymore) at the carnival.

Reusable as a solution
For him, the solution is "reusable cups". After initial considerations, the groups will have to rent and order the containers for each weekend. However, they are not allowed to wash the cups for reuse themselves. This is done by a company - which charges around 20 cents per cup.

Fasnacht thrives on tradition. However, the question of which container a drink is served in has nothing to do with tradition.

Christian Härting, Fasnachtsobmann und Bürgermeister von Telfs

Bild: Birbaumer Christof

"Cannot be implemented"
The groups really don't like this, and the outrage is huge. "As far as I know, everyone is against it," says one Fasnacht member in an interview with the "Krone", "because this solution is practically impossible to implement." Small groups in particular are not in a position to take the cups to a central location in Telfs on the evenings for cleaning - and to collect them again.

A hole in the till
 "What's more, if we haven't ordered enough cups, we can't serve any more." This turnover is missing from the group's coffers, and the costs for renting and cleaning cannot be passed on to the guests.

Each group should come up with a solution. I could imagine guests being checked when they leave the carts to see if they have disposable containers with them.

Christian Härting, Fasnachtsobmann und Bürgermeister von Telfs

Bild: Birbaumer Christof

Mayor before giving in
The storm that blew in Mayor Härting's face was now too strong after all. "I now take a similar view to the groups," says Härting. He wants to "pass the ball back to the groups" at the next meeting of the carnival committee. It will probably come down to a compromise.

Decision in November
"Each group should come up with a solution," says Härting, "I could imagine guests being checked when they leave the floats to see if they have disposable containers with them. The groups should also use reusable cups that they clean themselves." - Decision in November.