Hattie Ellis
The UK hospitality sector, including its high street coffee chains, has more work to do in order to shift consumers away from a reliance on disposable coffee cups, according to the results of a new survey.
According to the YouGov survey commissioned by sustainable drinkware specialist, Circular&Co., just 24% of people who buy takeaway hot drinks regularly bring their own reusable cup.
Conversely, half of those who regularly buy takeaway hot drinks never use a reusable cup, leaving them completely reliant on single-use products.
In the UK, it is estimated that we use between 2.5 to 5 billion disposable paper cups per year, with very few of those reported as being recycled. With 76% of people who purchase takeaway coffees relying on single-use equivalents, this means that there is a huge opportunity for takeaway hot drinks outlets to adopt simple practices to reduce the significant single-use waste produced in the UK.
These include offering reusable cups for sale, a discount to customers that use one, or implementing a cost-effective returnable cup scheme. Circular&Co. is the only company in the UK that offers both to businesses of all sizes.
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. Some are even simpler, by trusting customers to return the cups and ensure a circular economy of reusables within the outlet.
Dan Dicker, CEO and Founder at Circular&Co., said: “This survey clearly shows the opportunity on offer to forward-thinking catering outlets as they look to reduce their reliance on single-use packaging. 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.”
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