refill return cup

Have you ever thought about the sheer number of single-use coffee cups you go through in a week? As we sip our lattes and cappuccinos, the environment bears the burden of our convenience.

Each year, billions of these cups end up in landfills, contributing to an already overwhelming waste problem. Also read about reusable coffee cups.

Circular Returnable Cup Scheme offers stacking cups with QR codes designed to last 500 commercial washes, so customers can pay a small deposit and get them back, when returning the cups.

Don’t fill hot liquids to top to avoid scalding, and avoid wide-mouth bottles with hot drinks for children. Don’t place metal cups in microwaves.

Avoid caffeine for pregnancy/nursing and affected medical conditions. Just bin coffee grounds to break down (caffeine can harm compost bin creatures). We like Sanctuary Coffee which helps animal sanctuaries.

Use a sink protector mat to stop coffee grounds clogging drains. Latest research says that caffeine could harm harm compost bin creatures, so just bin the bags to naturally break down at landfill.

Bristol refill cup

Bristol charity City to Sea has recently launched a Refill Return Cup, saying if it was used by 10% of residents each week, this would stop 46,000 single-use cups being used in the city (2.5 million a year).

With more people recognising the environmental impact of their morning routines, the shift to reusable coffee cups is gaining traction.

Cafés are also introducing returnable coffee cup schemes, making it easier than ever to make a sustainable swap. This small change not only reduces waste but also helps protect the planet for future generations.

The Environmental Crisis of Coffee Cups

circular cups

Circular & Co

Over 500 billion disposable coffee cups are used each year, and in the UK alone, 2.5 billion cups are disposed of each year (that’s 7 million tossed each day, most end up in landfills, as the plastic linings make them difficult to recycle).

Once buried, disposable cups leach harmful materials and take up to 30 years to break down fully. This doesn’t just pollute the ground; it also affects waterways and wildlife. Additionally, producing these cups requires enormous amounts of water and energy, further straining natural resources. Is a cup of coffee worth this environmental toll?

Single-Use Cup Recycling Challenges

BrummieCup

Brummie Cup is a reusable coffee cup that can be borrowed for a £2 deposit. It comes in 2 sizes and 5 colours. This is a volunteer-run program, available in many cafes across England’s friendliest city.

The World’s First Edible Coffee Cup!

cupffee

Cupffee is the world’s first edible coffee cup, as tasty as a cookie! It’s still resistant to hot temperatures and doesn’t leak, and won’t change the taste of your takeaway cup of tea or coffee.

The cup is made from seven sustainable ingredients, to be an alternative to disposable paper cups, which waste trees (and also have plastic linings, so are not easy to recycle).

The cups are vegan (mostly made from oat bran, wheat flour and coconut oil). The small size is ideal for espresso, and the larger size for other coffee drinks. The paper label can also be customised for branded coffee shops.

Office Cup Holders (made from fishing waste)

muggi cup holders

Muggi makes cup holders made from fishing waste, sold with an 88-year guarantee! Perfect for caravans and boats, they are study and comfortable, and perfect to keep your drinks safe on choppy waves.

Ghost fishing gear makes up 10% of ocean waste, killing hundreds of thousands of marine creatures. Volunteer to help remove ghost fishing waste.

This simple invention is just great! The inventor has ensured that older and disabled people can use it, it’s even suitable for people with cerebral palsy, to avoid dangerous spills of hot drinks.

It’s sold worldwide, and one of those ‘aha’ inventions that could not only help to use up the mountains of collected fishing waste, but keep people safe from burns. And also reduce the use of single-use plastic (and trees for cardboard versions) presently used for office cup-holders.

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