Reusable coffee cups
Responsible Cafes
Responsible Cafés is a program that tackles the waste issue of disposable coffee cups with the simple idea of encouraging customers to bring their own cup by offering a discount to those that do. Check this map and find a Responsible Café near you.
Can I use a reusable coffee cup during COVID-19?
Responsible Cafés explain how you can if it's done in a safe and respectful way. Read their Guide to navigating reusables and cafe operations during COVID-19.
Need help choosing the right reusable cup?
It can be hard to navigate the range of choices available. Silicone, pottery, glass, compostible – there's a whole world of cups out there. Responsible Cafés' Better Cup Guide can help you find the cup that best suits you or you can watch the video below for inspiration.
Swap-and-go coffee cups – Green Caffeen
Every neighbourhood in the Inner West has a trove of cafés to explore. You’ll also see single use coffee cups in use – and littering the streets, parks and gutters, headed for the Cooks River and Harbour.
We have a solution to cut this waste. Together with Green Caffeen and Responsible Cafés we brought swap and go coffee cups to local cafés. Since the scheme launched in the Inner West, more than 60,000 cups have been saved from landfill. It’s free for cafés and customers and works to support the strong coffee culture and the BYO cup movement. It helps the Inner West move a step closer to zero waste by strengthening our active share economy.
How to use Green Caffeen
- Download the free Green Caffeen app.
- Drop in to one of the participating cafés and get a free Green Caffeen cup to drink your coffee, tea, chai or hot choccie simply by scanning your app.
- Drop the cup back to any Green Caffeen café within 30 days and feel the good karma of saving the planet, one cup at a time.
- It is as simple as scan, swap, drink, return.
Green Caffeen cups can be used endlessly between cafes and users who are part of the Green Caffeen network. If you can't drop your cup back to a participating café within 30 days, there's a $12.99 fee to allow them to make sure there are enough cups for everyone to reuse.
How cafés can sign up
If you want your café to offer Green Caffeen, just sign up at Green Caffeen’s website. It’s free for businesses to participate – and free for your customers too. Once your café is confirmed in the project, Council and Green Caffeen will provide reusable cups and provide all the support you need to get going.
Lots of Inner West cafés are already on board, and there are hundreds of cafés across Australia using Green Caffeen to reduce their waste. Green Caffeen has already prevented over a million disposable cups from going to landfill across Australia.
For more on the scheme, check out the video below or visit the Green Caffeen website.
Find a café near you
Once you are signed up, you can use free swap and go reusable coffee cups at over 700 cafés across Australia, with more than 40 cafés offering Green Caffeen in the Inner West. It's easy to find your local in the app and online at the Green Caffeen website.