Each year, it is estimated that we use 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups in the UK*. That’s the kind of number that we can’t get our heads around! With only 1 in 400 cups making it to be recycled, the volume of waste from our take-away hot drink habit is horrifying.
We are proud to be rolling out a new deposit return scheme for coffee cups in Emsworth to try to make a small reduction in the number of disposable cups used in our local town. We are hoping that this pilot scheme will be a huge success, and something we can roll out further in the future.
What’s it all about?
- Coffee shops and cafés can sign up to take part in the scheme. We provide them with a starter set of reusable coffee cups and instructions on how it all works.
- If a customer forgets to bring their own reusable coffee cup, they can choose to pay an extra £3 as a refundable deposit to get their hot drink in a reusable coffee cup.
- When they have finished their drink, they can return the cup to the shop where they purchased it, or any other shop taking part in the scheme, to get their £3 deposit back.
Participating Cafés!
If you are a coffee shop or café that would like to get involved in the scheme, please get in touch.
FAQ’s
What is the cup made of?
The cups are made from bamboo fibre and rice husk and will biodegrade in 1-2 years rather than the many years that disposable plastic-lined cups take to break up into smaller and smaller microplastic pieces.
What’s wrong with biodegradable or compostable cups?
Compostable cups, although some are plastic free, are still single use. They are used for a matter of minutes before they are disposed of. They are also not always what they seem. Some are classed as ‘home compostable’ and may compost in the environment, but will still take months. And the vast majority are a bit misleading and need to be collected and taken to an industrial composter, where they need very specific conditions to break down properly. The reality is that cups thrown away in the town bins all end up in the incinerator just like everything else, and those that end up in the environment may still hang around for decades.
Will it keep my drink hot?
The cup is insulated so will not burn your hands, but it will not keep it hot like a thermos or insulated metal bottle.
What happens when it breaks?
The cup is tough and will last for hundreds of uses, but if it breaks we will take it back and put it in our hot composter – just drop it off at one of the participating cafes. Please note that if the cup is broken the deposit will not be returned.
What are the cups made from?
The cups are made from bamboo fibre and rice husk and will biodegrade in 1-2 years rather than the many years that disposable plastic-lined cups take to break up into smaller and smaller microplastic pieces.
The Final Straw Foundation 
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