A new initiative from Kiwi roasters Havana Coffee Works allows coffee drinkers to order their takeaway brew in a reusable cup – even if they forget to bring their own.
Havana has teamed up with returnable packaging experts Again Again to create an innovative and practical solution to help reduce coffee cup waste, as a part of their Ground for Good campaign.
Dubbed the ‘Coffee Cup Library’, owing to its similarities with a typical library system, coffee lovers will have the opportunity to sign up, borrow and return a reusable stainless steel coffee cup from any participating Havana venue across the country.
The system is simple and as easy as borrowing a library book. All customers need to do is download the Again Again app, purchase a coffee from their chosen Havana supplied café, and tap their phone on the scan station at the till to borrow a Havana cup at no extra cost. In many locations customers will in fact get a discount for borrowing a returnable cup. The great thing about the system is that customers don’t need to remember to bring a cup with them to borrow another returnable cup. Customers have two weeks to bring borrowed returnable cups back to a participating café and there is a network of cafes participating in Ground For Good where cups can be returned.
Sam Keall, Havana Sales Manager, says: “The Havana Ground For Good Coffee Cup Library is a significant moment for reducing single-use cup waste in Aotearoa. Our goal is to create a zero-waste circular system that is convenient and simple for Kiwis to get behind.
“What’s even better is that our Havana returnable cups are not only good for the planet but, their double-walled stainless-steel design will take your coffee-to-go experience to the next level.”
Despite our clean and green reputation, Aotearoa generates the most landfill per capita of any developed nation in the world. Every year, Kiwis throw away 295 million single-use cups and when these cups don’t make it to landfill, they take hundreds of years to break down in the environment. Most cups aren’t recyclable due to their plastic interior liners and whilst compostable cups may seem like a better solution, it is estimated that only 1 in 400 of these cups are actually composted.
To celebrate the launch of the initiative and give back to local communities, Havana will donate to a community cause selected by the café partner every time a cup is borrowed throughout October and November.
View all participating Havana cafés and venues here.
