Taiwan is a paradise for hand-cupped beverages, but this also means Taiwanese consumers consume 2.2 billion disposable beverage cups annually. Without proper recycling, these cups ultimately become a significant source of plastic waste, leading to the adoption of shared cups as a viable solution. How is this shared cup culture being promoted abroad, making drinking more environmentally friendly?
Four years have passed since Taiwan announced expanded restrictions on single-use plastics in 2018. With Taipei City set to completely ban disposable beverage cups in December of this year, the "shared beverage cup" system, which has been in operation for some time, seems to offer a promising alternative that combines environmental friendliness with convenience. However, consumer habits, hygiene concerns, and the diverse range of hand-shaken beverages and beverage cups in Taiwan have all made implementation more challenging.
So how do they do it abroad?
Cupclub's shared coffee cups are a huge success, offering seamless delivery and cleaning services.
In 2019, British brand Qureshi launched the Cupclub shared coffee cup program, designing reusable, shareable coffee cups with a similar capacity to disposable takeout cups for coffee shops. Customers simply purchase their coffee at the coffee shop as usual and return it at a designated location afterward.
Cupclub will send people to various points to collect and clean the cups, and then send the cups back to the coffee shop for continued use. On average, one cup can be reused 132 times.
Cupclub's cups are inspired by paper cups that use a "plastic coating" for waterproofing. This thin plastic waterproof layer is difficult to handle due to its complex material. When combined with recyclable paper, it becomes disposable waste that is too expensive to handle and must be discarded directly after use. This is more troublesome than pure plastic cups. Therefore, Cupclub's cups are made of a single material, recyclable low-density polypropylene, and are embedded with an "RFID tag chip". The return point can be found through the app, which is very convenient.
After four years, Cupclub, now renamed CLUBZERØ, has successfully expanded its business to Europe and North America by partnering with the catering industry, schools and general offices. It currently has more than 3,000 customers using its services and has successfully saved more than 2.2 million plastic cups.
RECUP, Europe's largest shared cup program, has increased its partner base 500-fold
Similar initiatives are gaining momentum in Germany. Launched in 2016, RECUP, a startup, has grown from 16 partners to over 8,000 partners, making it Europe's largest shared cup program, serving tens of thousands of customers daily. It even inspired REBOWL, a shared lunchbox program, which continues to expand its shared container operations.
The specially designed RECUP sharing cup comes in three capacities, enough to meet various takeout needs. Although the team does not help you with transportation and cleaning like Cupclub, you can still return the cup to a cooperating store in another location after purchasing coffee. In addition, the store can also purchase reusable cup lids, which makes consumers who are worried about spilling drinks feel more at ease.
According to statistics, a RECUP cup can be used up to 1,000 times before it breaks. Although the store needs to pay a monthly rent of between 25 euros and 45 euros, it can make a profit as long as it sells 12 cups of drinks in RECUP a day.
Consumers need to pay a deposit of 1 euro each time they use the cup, and they can get a refund when they return the cup. It only takes an additional step of returning the cup, and they can easily be environmentally friendly without increasing their financial burden.
Source: Environmental Information Center (https://e-info.org.tw/node/235196)
