Inner West Council launches ground-breaking reusable coffee cup scheme
Wednesday, 31 July 2019
Inner West Council has just launched its innovative new swap-and-go coffee cup scheme.
Thirty-two cafes in the Inner West have signed up for Council’s scheme, including a majority of cafes in Marrickville Metro, which is aiming to be the first shopping centre in Australia to have all of its cafes participating.
“Everyone knows that Inner West residents are very committed to sustainability and environmental protection. This is a way we can do something practical while also setting an example for the rest of Australia,” said Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne.
“With our partners Green Caffeen, we want the Inner West to be the epicentre of a coffee cup revolution that will eliminate wasteful disposable coffee cups across the country.
“Australians use more than one billion disposable single use coffee cups annually, which works out to be nearly three million cups a day going into landfill,” said Mayor Byrne.
“These single use cups can be a major source of littering and are difficult to recycle, as they are made from a composite material - paper with a plastic waterproof layer. We are forced to spend a huge amount of ratepayers’ money taking non-recyclable cups to landfill.”
Participating cafes will provide free reusable coffee cups, which customers can drop off and return to any other participating cafe, within 30 days. The cups will then be cleaned and provided another for reuse, so customers don’t have to worry about washing and carrying around their own mug.
The scheme is a collaboration between Inner West Council, reusable cup system Green Caffeen and the Responsible Cafes program.
To participate in Council’s scheme, simply download the Green Caffeen app from the App Store or Google Play, get your free Green Caffeen cup at a participating cafe and drink your coffee happy in the knowledge that you have helped your neighbourhood be a little more sustainable.
“Through this reusable cup scheme we can reduce waste, save money and help local cafes meet their customers’ preferences for environmentally sustainable products and services,” he said.
Program partner Responsible Cafes is a Sydney-based not-for-profit that connects cafes with consumers through the simple idea of a discount for customers who bring their own cup.
Green Caffeen is a free swap-and-go solution that is being used by 170 cafes across NSW. Since it started up last year, Green Caffeen has prevented the use of more than 50,000 throwaway cups.
They are also about to officially roll out a reusable cup scheme in all of the 15 cafes on the University of Queensland’s St Lucia campus in Brisbane on 7 August 2019.
A full list of Inner West cafes that have joined the scheme are listed on the next page. For cafes that want to enrol in the program or looking are for more information, contact Kate Jackson, Coordinator Community Sustainability, at (02) 9335 2147 or Kate.Jackson@innerwest.nsw.gov.au
Inner West cafes that are part of Council’s swap-and-go coffee cup scheme:
- Acre Eatery, Camperdown
- Bar Sirocco, Annandale
- Blu Aqua, Lilyfield
- Brewfield Cafe & Catering, Ashfield
- Buddha Bowl Cafe, Newtown
- Cherry Moon General Store, Annandale
- Cordelia's Cafe, Rozelle
- Cornersmith Annandale, Annandale
- Cornersmith Marrickville, Marrickville
- Dolcissimo, Haberfield
- Donut King, Marrickville Metro
- Espresso Brothers, Marrickville Metro
- Fez & Co, Annandale
- Goodbye Horses, Summer Hill
- Grumpy Bean Cafe, Leichhardt
- Hungry Grasshopper, Haberfield
- Kellermans Cafe, Marrickville
- LABLD, Marrickville
- Michel's Patisserie, Marrickville Metro
- ONA Marrickville, Marrickville
- Outfield, Ashfield
- Petty Cash Cafe, Marrickville
- Purple Trees The Cafe, Summer Hill
- Queenside, Dulwich Hill
- Sandy Ln Espresso, Lilyfield
- Sergio's Cake Shop, Marrickville Metro
- The Drug Store, Summer Hill
- The Shoe Chef Cafe, Dulwich Hill
- Three Arrows Coffee, Petersham
- Two Chaps, Marrickville
- Warren and Holt, Marrickville
- Wolf and Honeybee, Enmore