In the UK, it is estimated that consumers use between 2.5 to 5 billion disposable paper cups per year, with few of those reported as being recycled. With 76% of people who purchase hot beverages to go relying on single-use equivalents, the research reveals that more work needs to be done in order to shift consumers away from their reliance on disposable hot beverage cups.

There is a huge opportunity for takeaway hot drinks outlets to adopt simple practices to reduce the significant single-use waste produced. In the US, for example, many cafés and coffee shops offer reusable cups for sale, a discount to customers that use one, or have a cost-effective returnable cup program. Furthermore, many outlets offer seasonal reusable cups to entice consumers to buy and use them, particularly in the fourth-quarter (e.g., Starbucks signature red reusable annual holiday cup) and Earth Day (bright green cups are ubiquitous).

In 2023, to help reduce single-use waste and alter attitudes towards disposable items, more than a dozen cafés in Stirling, Scotland offer customers the option of reusable cup for to-go drinks in return for a £1 deposit. The deposit could be reclaimed at any café participating in the Ditching Disposables Stirling scheme. (Click here for the full story.)

The flexibility of returnable and reusables allow outlets to establish a concept that best suits its operations. By purchasing a given number of returnable cups, organisations can either collect a small deposit from customers, which is then refunded on return of the cup, or implement a borrow charge if the cup is not returned within a set period. According to the survey, some programs are even simpler, by trusting customers to return the cups and ensure a circular economy of reusables within the outlet.

“This survey clearly shows the opportunity on offer to forward-thinking catering outlets as they look to reduce their reliance on single-use packaging,” said Dan Dicker, CEO and founder at Circular&Co. “There’s a clear appetite for more returnable cup schemes and reusables among those buying takeaway hot drinks regularly, which gives businesses the opportunity to make significant commercial and environmental savings, all while improving their appeal to the growing number of environmentally conscious customers.”

• Vanessa L Facenda, editor, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.
  Keep in touch via email: vanessa@bellpublishing.com Twitter: @TCTradeJournal or LinkedIn: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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How the 100% reusables operating model works:

• Customers order their drink as usual at a participating Starbucks, in the café, drive-thru or via mobile order and pay.
• The hot or cold beverage will be served in a personal cup or a ‘borrowed’ cup, which customers can take with them at these 12 stores from 14 August – 22 October.
• If customers are using a borrowed cup, when done with their beverage, they return the cup by scanning and dropping the cup into a participating store’s contactless return bin. The cup will be professionally washed and sanitised, ready to be used again.
• Customers who bring their own personal cup will receive the standard benefit of USD $0.10 off and Starbucks Rewards members will receive 25 bonus stars.
• When customers return their borrowed cup, they will also have the option to register online with TURN to earn points for every Borrow a Cup return and prizes through TURN (a reuse platform designed for scale – through a fully circular system, TURN offers integrated solutions to end single-use plastic).

Why this matters:

• The company has been testing the 100% reusables model in several markets including three cities in the US (including the Starbucks café located in Starbucks headquarters in Seattle), as well as globally in Japan, Singapore, London, and South Korea since 2021.
• After a successful 3-month test, now customers can bring their personal cup through drive-thru going forward at 192 stores across Colorado.
• In support of the company’s goal to reduce waste by 50 percent by 2030, Starbucks is shifting away from single-use plastics, championing the use of recycled content, and promoting reusability, driven by a broader shift towards a circular economy.
• The biggest thing to learn from these tests as the company prepares to bring this model to more stores, is how to offer customers a way to shift away from single use cups toward a reusable to-go-coffee experience, in a way that is convenient, easy, and enjoyable.

Learn more about the test in the 12 Northern California stores in the Starbucks Stories post here and a Google Map of the stores here.

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BURT – which stands for ‘Borrow, Use, Reuse, Take Back’ – builds on Costa Coffee’s work to improve the sustainability of its cups and packaging by utilising innovative digital technology, seeking to shift consumer behaviour towards reuse. The trial launched on 29 September 2021 across 14 stores in Glasgow, the home of COP26, and will last for six months.

Costa Coffee will be using the trial to gain feedback from customers and learn about uptake and behaviour towards reusable cups. It will then use its findings to optimise and develop a scheme that will roll out more widely across the UK in phases.

To participate in the trial, customers must set up an account to join the BURT scheme by scanning a QR code displayed in one of the 14 participating stores. By making a one-off £5 payment to join the scheme, customers can then scan the QR code on the base of a BURT cup, which links the cup to the customer’s account, via blockchain technology. They can then pay at the till as normal while a barista prepares their favourite handcrafted Costa coffee.

After enjoying their coffee on-the-go, customers can return the cup to a participating Costa Coffee store at a time that suits them, where it will be scanned back in by the team, delinked from their account, and hygienically machine-washed in store, ready for the next customer. Customers will be given a new BURT cup with each new order.

The trial is being run in partnership with the digital agency, Austella, on its innovative blockchain-powered Valari platform. It will not only reduce the number of single-use cups used but also make it easier for customers who may have forgotten their reusable cups to still be able to pick up their favourite Costa coffee on-the-go, without waste. It is also perfect for those preferring not to carry their own cup around each day.

The BURT cups are made from high-quality and durable stainless steel, making them long-lasting and easy to clean in Costa’s in-store dishwashers, and can hold 8oz (Mini), 12oz (Small) and 16oz (Medium) drinks. BURT cups also fit with Costa Express machines, giving customers even more chances to enjoy Costa coffee wherever they are.

Commenting on the trial, Neil Lake, managing director, Costa Coffee UK&I, said: “Our customers believe passionately in being able to make choices that help them do their bit to protect the environment. Our priority at Costa Coffee is to provide convenient, effective solutions while continuing to serve great tasting, perfectly crafted coffee. We are excited to be the first national coffee company to be offering a solution like BURT, to further incentivise the uptake of reusable cups in our stores.

Alongside our newly launched Costa Coffee Club offer of a free drink for every four drinks bought in a reusable cup, we hope this trial will show another way forward in helping to reduce waste whilst improving customer experience. It will also help us understand more about how the UK high street can lead the way in ensuring the long-term environmental sustainability of our planet.”

Commenting on the trial, Mark Cundle, CEO at Austella, said: “Austella is delighted to be working with Costa Coffee to launch the trial of BURT and believes passionately in the role blockchain technology can play in helping businesses reduce their environment impact and make it easier for consumers to make sustainable choices. One quick scan of a QR code and Costa customers will be able to enjoy their favourite coffee in a reusable cup, before dropping it back for the next customer to use, reducing single-use waste.”

This initiative also comes as Costa Coffee prepares to participate in a broader initiative this autumn, from Keep Scotland Beautiful with other key coffee retailers, and in partnership with Glasgow City Council, to increase reuse and recycling rates in-store.

Barry Fisher, CEO at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “Glasgow has been the focal point for a raft of work to address cup waste, via our Cup Movement in Glasgow campaign, so we are delighted to see this innovative trial taking place in the city. Effective reuse solutions are essential to reducing waste, changing the way that we consume, and addressing the climate emergency.  As the city prepares to host COP26, we look forward to supporting Costa with this initiative and stepping up consumer engagement with them and other retailers, working to facilitate the necessary transition towards more sustainable consumption.”

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As part of Starbucks ongoing commitment to prioritizing partner and customer safety, the company developed a completely contactless, new method – eliminating any shared touch points between the customer and Starbucks partners (baristas).

Bringing back personal reusable cups is a key part of Starbucks ongoing commitment to reduce single-use cup waste and goal to reduce waste by 50% by 2030. At Starbucks, pre-Covid 80% of beverages are enjoyed on the go. To encourage customers to choose reusable cups and reduce single-use cup waste, Starbucks will continue offering customers a USD $.10 discount on their beverage of choice.

Starbucks held extensive trials and has adopted this new process, using a ceramic mug to transport the reusable cup through the bar, in EMEA and Asia Pacific to reintroduce reusable cups with confidence.

Only clean cups will be accepted; Starbucks partners will not be able to clean them for customers. In addition, the company is currently testing safe options for allowing personal reusable cups via the drive thru, but for now personal reusable cups will only be accepted in stores. Starbucks will also be reinstating For Here Ware for customers who choose to enjoy their food and beverages in-store where indoor dining is available.

Full details on how the new personal reusable cup process works can be found here.

Efforts to reduce single-use cup waste is not new to Starbucks. We have offered the option for customers to enjoy their beverage in For Here Ware or to BYOC (bring your own cup) for a discount since the 1980s. And yet, the majority of our beverages in the US are served in single-use cups, with only a small amount being recycled or composted due to waste processing infrastructure limitations.

Starbucks continues to explore scalable options to reduce single-use cup waste and has acted through powerful partnerships – including working with Closed Loop Partners and their NextGen Consortium and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment – to research and test solutions that will make its cups, lids and straws easier to recycle and compost. This complements the company’s work with municipalities to improve recycling and composting infrastructure.

Starbucks continues to make progress against this goal around the world. Starbucks EMEA previously announced it will offer a reusable cup share program in all Europe, Middle East and Africa stores by 2025. In July, Starbucks South Korea will launch Borrow a Cup program in stores and recently committed to eliminating single-use cups by 2025.

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As Covid-19 began to take hold of the United Kingdom in March 2020, Costa Coffee and Starbucks were high profile examples of this as they immediately cut refilling reusable cups as part of their offering in line with the government guidance, instead, switching back to filling single-use products. Transport services in the country, such as Great Western Railway and LNER, also followed suit and made the early decision to ban reusable cups on trains.

What is clear is that this pandemic is not going anyway any time soon. In fact, the talk has shifted as to whether we’re going to be required to live with this virus – with or without a vaccine. So, will the hospitality sector ever be in a position to safely factor in reusable products, or has the time come to begin discussing a new future-proof alternative?

At least 2.5 billion coffee cups are thrown away each year in the UK, according to a government report published in 2018. Less than 1% of this gets recycled. Why?

The hospitality and foodservice industries have taken giant strides over the last decade to manufacture and produce products that are 100% recyclable. Coffee cups, ironically, being a prime example of that.

This global pandemic has exasperated that over the past year – especially with reusable products being removed as an offering – but should that recycling trend continue, there’s no doubt we’re going to face a huge environmental problem.

When we emerged from lockdown and returned to a degree of normality in 2020, we saw cafés and restaurants reopening. However, a huge downside of that was the images we saw across the UK of the huge increase in pollution in our natural beauty spots. This includes things like disposable coffee cups, food packaging, containers, and plastic water bottles — all items which are repeatedly on the worst offenders list when it comes to what is causing plastic pollution across UK beaches and rivers.

If we are to return to single use, it’s clear that far more education is required. Data shows that disposable packaging has been on the rise over the last year and that has only heightened the need for more education to ensure the customer who is holding the disposable coffee cup knows what to do with it when it is empty.

There is a similar issue with the term “compostable” as well. There is a general perception that if something is compostable, it will disappear over time. It doesn’t work like that. Yes, it will compost, but only in the right environment, rather than just being chucked into a bin bag. We need to work with everybody to spread the word for what products are capable of what when it comes to the environment. The industry is well prepared and continues to prepare some very good products when it comes to recycling.

If we had this conversation towards the end of 2019, we would have been talking about the importance of reusable products, like crockery and cutlery, but if you look at the marketplace now, everyone wants to be hygienic. They want single-use recyclable products that they can eat and drink from successfully and then be provided with the right place for it to be placed for recycling.

Maybe the answer lies somewhere in the middle between reusable and single use. Aesthetics are a huge difference between the two, with single use being designed to serve a purpose before it is thrown into the recycling bin, while effort goes into the design of a reusable product to increase its appeal. However, what if that was transferred over to single-use products and consumers were provided with an incentive to use that single-use plastic for something else entirely? Hacks for repurposing waste pop up on the website and social media all the time, but as for the hospitality and catering sector, it is an intriguing possibility whether this is something that can be actively considered in the future as part of our packaging.

Reusable absence is just temporary

What has been clear over the last year is that reusable products have not been totally abandoned and, in fact, there has been a willingness to find ways of reintegrating them.

Just as Costa and Starbucks took their reusable products off the menu, we also saw them attempt to bring them back before they were withdrawn again as Covid cases began to spike across the UK. McDonald’s also announced in September that it would be testing a new system of reusable, returnable coffee cups at some point this year.

Beyond what the news is saying, here are some further thoughts that have been contributed by three industry leaders:

Mike Strange, director of corporate catering company, City Pantry, said, “We’ve seen the hunger for reusable products amongst consumers and I’m confident that this will return as soon as permitted. Of course, some packaging isn’t appropriate to be reusable and innovation in compostable packaging is essential.”

Mark Hilton, head of sustainable business at Eunomia and co-author of City to Sea’s Food-to-go report, said, “There is a strong and building pressure to increase the use of reusables — the pandemic has only created a blip. Ireland and France have stopped the use of single-use cups for eating in for example, and refills in general are now strongly on the cards at the EU level.”

He noted that there is little evidence that disposables are safer and government advice is generally that reusables can be used. “In fact, logic suggests that reusables can be safer than single-use. For a disposable cup, store staff take the cup out of the packaging, touching it (often without gloves), hold it while pouring the coffee then have their fingers on the lid (to press it down), which people then drink out of! The user then puts that in a bin, which other people will touch.”

Dinesh Patel, a former MasterChef finalist, said, “Based on the current pandemic I don’t think it would be safe for us [anytime soon] to be returning to coffee shops with our reusable cups in hand. But moving forward, I do feel it’s important that food and catering industry companies need to focus and make smart choices on recyclable, biodegradable, and compostable packaging and products.” He shared that, in the current climate, with a focus on safety, “many within the industry have unfortunately opted once again for single-use plastics but we need to remember that we can still make well informed and environmentally friendly choices while trying to be as safe as possible within regulations.”

I also believe that reusable products will return at some point in the future. For now, though, that’s not possible. Single-use will continue to be our go-to, but proper education is required to ensure that our use of it does not spiral out of control in the interim. The catering and hospitality sector has gone to great lengths, in my opinion, to become one of the most environmentally conscious industries in the world and has a big part to play in ensuring its customers are not only purchasing greener and recyclable products, but are also disposing of it properly or, are given an incentive to repurpose it.

As an industry, the onus is on to ensure we’re still doing our bit to curb what is once again becoming a huge issue.

• Steve Lloyd is CEO at Catering24, a UK-based supplier of disposable catering supplies & packaging.

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The trial aims to offer a new approach to reuse, helping customers reduce disposable cup usage within closed environments such as travel hubs. Customers at the Starbucks store will have the option to borrow a free reusable cup for their drink instead of using a paper cup, which they can then drop off at one of five ‘Cup Check-In’ points throughout the airport before they board their flight. Any customers wishing to choose a disposable paper cup are still welcome and able to do so and will incur the 5p paper cup charge that is live in all Starbucks stores.

Over 5.3 million of the seven million paper cups used at Gatwick each year are already being recycled but as recycling requires empty cups to be placed in the dry recycling bins, Starbucks and Hubbub have identified the potential to increase reusable cup options as well to limit the number of cups used in travel hubs where on-the-go packaging is prevalent.

The aim of the trial is to put 2,000 reusable Starbucks cups in circulation throughout Gatwick’s South Terminal, which could drastically reduce the number of paper cups being used each day. For example, if 250 customers opted for reusable each day, it could see over 7,000 paper cups saved in one month.

Jaz Rabadia, UK senior manager of energy and sustainability at Starbucks said: “The purpose of working with Hubbub and Gatwick is to help create a new culture of reuse on-the-go. We are optimistic that the ‘Cup Check-In’ points around the airport will provide enough places for customers to return their cups on the way to their gate, but also recognise this might not for everyone.”

Rachel Thompson, sustainability lead, Gatwick Airport said: “There is strong public support for measures to reduce waste and we are delighted to support one of our retailers with an innovation that can help travellers do that. We are looking forward to seeing how the trial goes and what we can learn to improve the solution.

“This trial fits well with Gatwick’s own circular economy ethos, which sees us utilise as many recovered resources as possible from within the airport estate.  By redesigning and investing in new waste collection and sorting facilities, and also in training to raise awareness about our journey toward zero waste, we have so far managed to hit a waste recycling and reuse rate of 70% this year. This includes all empty coffee cups and plastics and we also send zero waste to landfill.”

Trewin Restorick, CEO and co-founder, Hubbub said: “We know that people care about waste, but it’s often hard to ‘do the right thing’ when travelling. We want to find out whether people will get on board with reusing cups, if we make it easy and convenient. The airport is the ideal environment to trial a reusable cup scheme, as it is a closed loop environment and has the potential to reduce large volumes of paper cup waste. What we learn here will provide valuable insight into how to deploy a reusable trial in not only other airports, but many other environments.”

This trial is part of Starbucks and Hubbub’s on-going partnership and commitment to reducing paper cup waste. After introducing a 5p charge on paper cups in 2018 to encourage reuse, Starbucks has donated all proceeds to Hubbub to carry out environmental projects and research that increase sustainable consumer behaviour, such as this Gatwick trial.

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