Circular Returnable Cups (for shops and cafés)

The Circular Returnable Cup is a wonderful idea, to save indie shops waiting around for government to introduce a deposit return scheme (due to England stalling glass to be included, this has been included for decades in Finland).

Use code EnglandNaturally for 10% discount

Deposit return schemes are when there is financial incentive to return bottles and cans, to stop them being littered. 2 years after one was launched in Latvia, littered drinks on the Baltic coastline reduced by half. And volunteers looking to clean up the largest river, found not one drinks container.

They use reverse vending machines so you pop back your container to receive a small rebate. In Finland, the average person earns around £40 a year – which helps to fund their massive coffee-drinking habit – 4 cups a day!)

Others collect containers, and raise cash for communities.

Drinking or serving tea or coffee? NHS says that it’s best to avoid caffeine for pregnancy/nursing (or no more than 2 cups of weak tea daily – or 1 cup of mild coffee or cola). We like Sanctuary Coffee (profits help animals!)

Use a sink protector to catch coffee grounds, then bin (caffeine may affect compost creatures). Same with tea leaves.

More returnable cups for shops

Brummie Cup were created by Birmingham environmental group, you can borrow up to 2000 for community events, then just wash and return them. They don’t have lids, so take care with hot drinks.

Billie Cup are used across Europe in shops, hotels and restaurants, used hundreds of times then wash to wash, before recycling. Available in 5 sizes, the one-off purchased lids are used again and again, and customers can use tokens (made from fishing waste) at cashless outlets to buy and return the cups.

Borrow by Huskee (USA) lets people borrow reusable cups (made from coffee waste) then open an app to find the nearest place to return them, within 14 days. The cups are free, you just $3 late fees (just like libraries!)

There are also ‘borrow bins’ to drop cups into, if there are no nearby stores. And each ‘borrow and return’ gets you closer to a free cup of coffee!