Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, January 5, 2024
Unsustainable production and consumption habits have threatened human life and nature. Therefore, practitioners around the globe have paid attention to sustainability issues and adopted pro-environmental strategies to protect the environment.
Researchers have highlighted that using a single cup for takeaway beverages is one of the main problems of plastic pollution due to a thin layer of plastic inside the cups that makes the single-use cup unsuitable for recycling.
Hamilton works towards solutions
In a bid to combat the negative impacts of the practice that is too common in our busy lives, more than 2000 disposable cups have been recently diverted from landfills in just six weeks leading up to the end of the year through a new initiative that enables people to borrow reusable cups from selected Hamilton cafes.
In a bold move to combat the environmental impact of single-use coffee cups, the Hamilton City Council-supported initiative, ‘Let’s Reuse Hamilton’ is helping cafes across the city to implement their own sustainable cup-lending system.
The initiative, which is amongst the first in New Zealand aims to reduce this unnecessary waste to landfills and inspires people to make a more sustainable choice and do their part to fight the landfill.
About the Initiative
The project is being delivered by Impact Hub Waikato and funded through Hamilton City Council’s Waste Minimisation Fund. The Waste Minimisation Fund is provided by the Government’s charge for waste disposal, the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Levy.
Getting behind the initiative is simple. People can either bring their reusable cups to a participating cafe, or they can borrow one to return later.
The Council’s Sustainable Resource Recovery Unit Director Tania Hermann said the goal of Let’s Reuse Hamilton is to let customers choose reusable cups for their takeaway coffee, instead of relying on single-use disposable cups.
“It is estimated that New Zealanders go through more than 295 million takeaway coffee cups yearly. Most of these cups and their lids will end up in landfill, as the cup’s plastic lining prevents them from being able to be recycled in New Zealand,” said Ms Hermann.
Roadmap to waste reduction
The Council has a Waste Management and Minimisation Plan, a roadmap for how it will support Hamilton to reduce waste.
“One of our goals is to increase innovation and opportunities that help reduce waste to landfill and this initiative achieves that. It is simple to use and helps people make a choice that benefits the planet as well.”
Someone who consumes five coffees a week will send 1,300 single-use coffee cups to landfill, which is about 14kg in a year.
How it works
All participating cafes have opted into the ‘Again Again’ system. When customers visit, they can download the ‘Again Again’ app, scan it at the counter, and borrow a stainless steel cup.
When ready for their next coffee, they return their cup and borrow another one. Cups can be returned to any participating cafe, fostering a community-wide commitment to sustainability.
Some participating cafes have also created their own ‘ugly mug library’ – an eclectic collection of mugs, which customers can borrow from.
Some of the cafes that are participating are Kopi Cafe (298 Victoria Street), Rocket Coffee Roasters (302 Barton Street), Cream Eatery (14 Garden Place), Sierra Cafe (10 Worley Place), and Weave Eatery (3 Melody Lane).
Launch events a big success
To kick-start the initiative, the Let’s Reuse team hosted a series of launch events, one at each of the participating cafes, to bring the Hamilton community together.
“The launch events were well attended and a great opportunity for people to see how easy the system is to use. It was great to see staff excited about the initiative too, knowing they were helping support their customers to make better choices”, said Ms Hermann.
Already, the cafes involved have noted an increased sense of climate empowerment amongst customers and a greater sense of hope for the future.
Driven by their belief that every borrowed cup is a step toward a cleaner planet, the ‘Let’s Reuse’ project team is encouraging locals to get behind the initiative and help build a more sustainable future, one cup of coffee at a time.
About Hamilton City Council’s Waste Minimisation Fund
The fund encourages projects championing long-term waste minimisation and behaviour change, in line with the vision of the Council’s Waste Management and Minimisation Plan.
The fund distributes a total of $50,000 each year to successful applicants. The fund provides support to iwi, business and education/community groups based in Hamilton and involved in local waste reduction projects and initiatives with outcomes that benefit the Hamilton community.
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Hamilton.
