Richard Schouten with a CupCycling cup. Photo / David Haxton
The CupCycling movement has arrived in Kāpiti.
The reusable cup initiative is simple.
"Essentially how it works is customers come in [to a cafe involved] and they buy a cup for $5 [one off cost]," CupCycling manager Richard Schouten said.
"They then pay for their coffee.
"Then they can bring the cup back dirty, hand it over, and get a fresh coffee in a new cup, and enjoy the ongoing use of a reusable CupCycling cup."
The initiative had a sustainable focus.
"Our aim is to reduce the amount of coffee cups going to waste."
The venture is the brainchild of Steph and Nick Fry, the Kiwis behind IdealCup.
"They had a coffee roasting business and were supplying a whole lot of single use cups for businesses and they realised there was a need for a reusable system."
Richard said the venture had been going for about two and half years.
"It's in 17 regions throughout New Zealand and in about 130 cafes."
Local cafes taking part so far include Rosetta Cafe, Cafe 6 and their mobile Coffee Cruiser, and Cafe Lane.
The website www.cupcycling.nz has an interactive map shows all the venues for CupCycling.
"CupCycling has been really well received.
"And there's massive benefits for the community and businesses in terms of cost savings.
"Most places offer a discount for a reusable cup."
The cups, made in Wellington, are a number five polypropylene recyclable plastic.
"If they get damaged we can grind them down and make new cups."
Richard also thanked Keep Kāpiti Coast Beautiful for helping bring the venture to the coast.
The CupCycling website said, "CupCycling is about engaging with people and communities to have a real discussion about culture change; getting all of us working together to make a commitment to move away from the single use culture we have created.
"We are driven by a desire to make a cultural shift in Kiwis' mindsets, providing a reuse model which really does change habits, rather than just paying lip service to change."
