REUSABLE cups may have helped to halve the amount of rubbish collected after Brighton Pride in Preston Park.

An environmental sustainability report going before the council’s Tourism, Equalities, Communities and Culture Committee said that last year more than 46 tonnes of rubbish was collected in the park.

This year it was reduced by more than 20 tonnes to a little more than 25 tonnes, according to the report.

When 3.88 tonnes of recycling was separated, the total amount of general waste weighed in at 21.7 tonnes.

This year was the first time that the organisers used reusable cups in a bid to reduce the amount of rubbish in the park.

More than 200,000 cups were made available in Preston Park and the Pride Pleasure Gardens in Old Steine.

Of these, 53,600 were lost, damaged or destroyed – or 53 per cent of those given out.

A deposit scheme was used this year and organisers have previously said that they are looking at offering refillable souvenir cups.

An estimated 55,000 people partied in Preston Park in August where performers on the main stage included Emeli Sandé and the headline act Kylie Minogue.