Mug-sharing programs reduce takeout waste
Two Vancouver-based mug-sharing programs are trying to get coffee-lovers to ditch their addiction to single-use paper cups.
Mugshare offers reusable bamboo cups in a deposit-and-return scheme it hopes would reduce the whopping 2.6 million disposable paper cups thrown out each week in the city of Vancouver.
“It’s really crazy when you think about it and let that number soak in,” said mugshare’s Melanie Chanona, a UBC PhD student.
Research has shown many people don’t bring their own mugs because they’re bulky, inconvenient, or they forget to wash it.
“We designed mugshare to eliminate those barriers, but not lose the convenience of using a takeout coffee mug,” she said.
The program, which is run by five UBC students and alumni, started in 2016. This spring it expanded outside of campus and now has about 22 partners, including J.J. Bean and Cartems doughnuts, in Vancouver.
It allows people to make a $2 deposit for a reusable mug when grabbing coffee on the go. Once they’re ready, they can return the cup — even if it’s unwashed — to any participating business and get the deposit back. The cafes then wash the mugs in industrial dishwashers before putting them back on shelves.
About 6,000 of the black mugs with the distinctive aqua lid are in circulation, said Chanona.
Getting more partners on board is crucial to the program’s success, she said. “The larger the network, the more convenient it is for everybody. We want mugshare to be available where you are.”
It plans to expand to high-density areas, including downtown Vancouver and Mount Pleasant. It’s also looking into making its mugs fully compostable or more recyclable and switching to a local supplier to cut back on shipping costs and its environmental footprint.
A second program called Cuppy, which launched a pilot program last week, also offers reusable cups using a membership model.
For $5 a year, members get unlimited usage of Cuppy’s polypropylene cups, which can be returned anytime at participating locations. Users can check out a maximum of two cups at a time.
Founder Abner Tsai said many people want to reduce the amount of waste they produce, but habits are difficult to break. That’s why he opted to go with a membership model that’s cashless and digital, and will include a platform that offers incentives to encourage eco-friendly behaviour.
The system will send out notifications to remind members to return their cups, he said. Users can also collect points that can be redeemed for free coffee and other perks. “We want to motivate people with positive reinforcement,” he said.
Cuppy is currently partnered with Grounds for Coffee on Commercial Drive, but Tsai said he is in discussions with other businesses. Annual membership is offered free during the pilot phase.
In Vancouver, disposable cups and containers make up nearly 50 per cent of volume of trash collected from street garbage bins, costing taxpayers about $2.5 million per year to collect.