The SA Plastics Pact, in partnership with the V&A Waterfront and the Oranjezicht City Farm (OZCF) market, is piloting a reusable cup option for customers at the market in Granger Bay, Cape Town. This project makes reusable cups available to customers while they are at the market.
The aim of the pilot is to phase out single-use beverage cups, with the support and buy-in of customers.
It is a deposit-return scheme for on-the-go coffee and beer. Customers can “hire” a cup by paying a deposit and getting a full refund when they return the cup.
The pilot project will run for 6 months and the results will determine if it is continued and expanded, or if it is closed. This will be determined by how well customers respond to the initiative. We need your support!
Incentives
Currently the Market Bar and Journey Coffee are participating in giving incentives to customers for using reusable cups
Customers will receive a R5 discount on every beverage (coffee or beer) they purchase from participating merchants, while using a reusable cup.
By using the reusable cups, customers will be helping to reduce plastic waste which is often leaked into the environment.
Where to collect cups?
Customers can collect their reusable cups from the reusable cup kiosk before going to the beverage merchants to claim their discount.
The reusable cup kiosk is situated next to the outside seating area under the main stretch tent, next to The Creamery’s ice cream kiosk.
Used cups should also be returned to the same kiosk to retrieve the refund
Deposit and refund
The deposit and refund is the same amount, if the cup is returned in a good condition. This means that it costs the customer nothing to use the reusable cup and they make a saving on each beverage because they are helping us to avoid the cost of single-use cups.
The deposit/refund for the different cups is as follows:
- Beer cup = R20
- Coffee cup = R30
Return conditions
It is important for the customer to take care of the cup and not to damage it. This will ensure that the cup can be reused many times and therefore achieve the goal of reducing plastic waste.
A cup will not be refunded if it is:
- returned cracked or broken;
- returned with bite marks or any other damage on the rim of the cup;
- significantly scratched;
- melted or burnt;
- contaminated with damaging materials or fluids, i.e. cigarette ash/butts, solvents, paints, bodily fluids, flammable liquids, etc.
Sustainability
Reusable beer cups need to be used at least 4 times to break even in terms of cost and environmental footprint. Each use thereafter makes a significant saving to the OZCF market’s environmental footprint – and customers play a key role in this respect!
The reusable coffee cups must be used at least 7 times in order to out-perform single-use coffee cups.
This is why, aside from retrieving one’s deposit, it is important for customers to bring back their reusable cups when they are done.
So what’s the difference between a single-use cup and these reusable cups?
Single-use paper coffee cups, which have a plastic liner and beer cups have a low value for recycling, meaning there is low economic demand to retrieve them, so they are ultimately sent to landfill. Conversely, the plastic used to make the reusable cups is highly recyclable and due to the weight of plastic in each reusable cup, they will be highly sought after by recyclers when they can no longer be used as cups. This ensures that even when they are not wanted anymore, they can go back into circular economy applications.
Food safety and hygiene
The cup cleaning process is of restaurant standards.
The OZCF market has purchased a dedicated industrial glass washer for this project which will wash the cups at a high temperature with biodegradable detergents and rinse aid to ensure that the cups are food safe for the customer’s safety and peace of mind.
Clean cups are stored in a sealed container to ensure they remain clean. Dirty cups are stored separately.
Unfortunately, because the beer cups and coffee cups need to be washed in the same dishwasher, the cups cannot be certified as Halaal.
What the future holds?
This is a trial project to determine if customers are ready to shift to more sustainable solutions for on-the-go beverage cups. Based on how well customers respond to this initiative, the project will either be expanded or closed after a 6-month trial period. Expansion of the project could include adapting this solution for other food and beverage items and/or expanding into other locations.
Please do your part to support this initiative. It is a win-win for the customer and environment.
Customers are also invited to provide feedback using the following form.
