Blenheim cafe tackles footprint with new cup-swap scheme

A Blenheim cafe is taking its ‘‘war on waste’’ to the next level with a new cup-swap scheme.

Regulars at BV Gourmet are being encouraged to buy into the cafe’s SwappaCups movement, which essentially creates a revolving door of glass coffee cups.

Each SwappaCups customer buys a cup for $25, with their first coffee in the cup free.

The next time they visit, they bring in their cup and it gets swapped for a clean one. And every time customers ‘SwappaCup’, they get a discount on their coffee.

BV Gourmet owner Vicki Young says the cafe’s biggest problem, as far as footprint goes, is takeaway coffee cups.

‘‘We know the future of our environment is a major concern for many, and as a cafe that’s focused on a sustainable business model, this is just one step in our plan to have a more environmentally-friendly service.’’

A portion of each SwappaCup coffee purchase also goes to charity, with the first charity, for this quarter, the Breast Cancer Foundation.

About 50,000 takeaway cups are binned every 30 minutes in Australasia, with 1 billion going to landfill each year.

Young says even compostable cups still encourage a ‘‘throwaway culture’’.

‘‘While compostable cups are a step in the right direction, we think they are still encouraging a throwaway culture. Something we really want to get away from. We really want to be moving towards encouraging a reusable culture.’’

BV customers can enter into the scheme by buying a BV Gour-

‘‘While compostable cups are a step in the right direction, we think they are still encouraging a throwaway culture. Something we really want to get away from. ’’

met branded SwappaCup. The new cups are made from high quality borosilicate glass, and are BPA (toxic plastic) free.

‘‘And the coffee just tastes better in glass,’’ Young says.

And people who already have their own ‘keep cups’ can also get a discount on their coffees.

Vicki Young, BV Gourmet owner BV Gourmet barista Sash Mutze with the box the SwappaCups come in.