Reusable coffee cup trialled across Hastings

Cupple barista Nick Ainley with one of the Again Again cups that are to be trialled by participating cafes next month. Photo / Supplied

A new alternative to single-use takeaway coffee cups is being trialled across Hastings, and growing numbers of cafes are looking at using it.

Hastings District Council is calling for cafes across the district to join the trial of the Again Again reusable coffee cup scheme which will be launched next month to mark Plastic Free July.

It's estimated that in New Zealand about 295 million single-use cups are thrown out each year, which equates to about four million in Hastings alone.

Standard single-use coffee cups also have a thin layer of plastic coating that means they can't be recycled, and compostable versions are causing issues at local composter, BioRich.

The Again Again cup is a recycled stainless steel cup that, as the name suggests, can be reused over and over again.

Again Again is a New Zealand company based in Wellington, and with the scheme the customer pays a $3 deposit to borrow a stainless steel cup, which gets refunded when it's returned to any cafe that is part of the network.

People can borrow more than one cup, and bring multiple back when they remember.

Cafes participating in the scheme pay a network membership fee and the council is offering to pay about half the cost of a six-month trial.

Local cafe Cupple has got on board with the scheme and spokesman Al Borrie said they jumped at the chance to participate.

"We want to minimise any environmental impact of doing business, and this is a simple solution that works for us, and gives added convenience to our customers."

More information about Again Again can be found at www.againagain.co and information about the subsidy at https://www.hastingsdc.govt.nz/services/rubbish-and-recycling/waste-minimisation/again-again-at-espresso/