A brand-new returnable coffee cup scheme will be launching in the Welsh capital next month. The Cardiff Refill Return Cup scheme – the first-of-its-kind in Wales – will enable Cardiffians to ‘borrow’ a reusable takeaway cup from a participating café and return it at a later date so that it can be washed and used again and again. 

The Cardiff Refill Return Cup will roll out across cafes in the city from 4 October 2024; the scheme has been brought to life by FOR Cardiff with the help of £90,000 funding from the UK government through the Shared Prosperity Fund. To deliver the scheme, FOR Cardiff has partnered with environmental charity City to Sea; their award-winning Refill app will enable Cardiff residents and visitors to easily find locations to pick up and drop off their reusable cup. 

The pilot phase of the scheme will run until the end of March 2025 and aims to reduce waste and tackle pollution and littering across the city. The impact of the scheme will be measured and evaluated by the Greenwich Business School at the University of Greenwich and the Cardiff Business School at Cardiff University, in hopes that the data will help to provide a blueprint for future schemes across the UK.

An estimated 2.5 billion takeaway coffee cups (30,000 tonnes) are used and thrown away each year in the UK – enough to stretch around the world five and a half times if placed end to end – and 99% of these are currently not recycled. The UK uses a mind-blowing 10,000 coffee cups every two minutes.

Cardiff cafes and coffee shops who have so far signed up to be part of the scheme include Waterloo Tea in Wyndham Arcade, Pettigrew Bakeries (three locations across the city – Castle Arcade, Bute Park and Roath), Da Coffee (two locations at Tramshed Tech and One Central Square) and Bird&Blend Tea. Each venue has committed to offering a minimum of 15p discount on the price of a coffee for anyone using the Cardiff Refill Return Cup scheme.

How the Cardiff Refill Return Cup works:

• Cafes and coffee shops across the city will sign up to the scheme and will be provided with a stock of the reusable cups. 
• The customer will download the Refill app and register their card details in preparation for using one of the Cardiff Refill Return Cups (no charges will be taken).
• When a customer comes in for a coffee, the barista will use the award-winning Refill app to scan a QR code on one of the Cardiff Refill Return Cups, and temporary ownership of the cup goes to the customer. 
• The customer will be reminded when and where to return the cup by the Refill app; provided the cup is returned within two weeks, there is NO charge for using the scheme. 
• Once the customer returns the cup, the participating retailer will scan it back in, wash it and put it back into circulation to be re-used by another customer – again and again and again! 

Carolyn Brownell, Executive Director at FOR Cardiff said:

“Our 2021-26 FOR Cardiff business plan clearly sets out our ambition to support businesses and work with local stakeholders to improve sustainability of our city centre, so we were thrilled to secure the funding we need to bring this exciting pilot to life. We’re positive that Cardiffians will get behind the scheme and help us to prevent up to 30,000 single-use cups from ever being used.”

David Le Masurier, co-founder of Pettigrew Bakeries in Cardiff – one of the first independent businesses to sign up to the new scheme – said: 

“Over the years we have consistently looked at ways to offer takeaways more sustainably – from offering discounts for people using their own cups, to making sure we sourced biodegradable materials for cups and packaging – but there are various challenges with both of these approaches. Being part of this pilot was an absolute no brainer for us as, it is clearly the most sustainable option; we’re really excited to get started we know our customers’ will jump at the chance to tackle the issue.”

George Clark, Programme Lead at City to Sea commented: 

“Building on the success of the Refill Return Cup in Bristol and Bath, we are thrilled to be working with FOR Cardiff to bring the scheme to Cardiff and prevent thousands of single-use hot drink cups from entering the waste stream. We are very excited that the project will act as the first Welsh pilot to better understand the most effective way to operate the system and engage the public and local businesses – pollution and single-use litter is a challenge we must all play a part in tackling.”

Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning and Transport, Cllr Dan De’Ath, said:

“Billions of single-use coffee cups are thrown away each year but this new scheme will ensure that for the first time here in Cardiff, there is a practical, sustainable alternative. Helping reduce the amount of waste we all create is an important part of our One Planet Cardiff strategy and I’m delighted that, working with our partners at FOR Cardiff, we’ve been able to help secure the funding that is bringing the scheme to Cardiff.”

Dr Nadine Leader, lecturer in Logistics and Operations at Cardiff Business School (Cardiff University), said:

“The research undertaken by Cardiff Business School is in alignment with our Public Value Strategy of generating social and economic value to local communities and businesses in Wales and beyond. The research will evaluate on the challenges and sustainable impact of the Cardiff Refill Return Cup, with the findings to be published at the end of the pilot. This will be crucial if we are to see similar schemes rolled out across Wales and the rest of the UK.”

Pearl Costello is the Sustainable Food Places Coordinator at Food Cardiff – the city’s rapidly growing food partnership, and the organisation behind the campaign to make Cardiff one of the UK’s most sustainable food places by 2024 (find out more). She added: 

“It is wonderful to see Wales’ first reusable cup scheme being launched here in the Welsh capital. Cardiff has a growing ‘good food movement’ and the Cardiff Refill Return Cup will play a big part in making the city’s thriving café culture much more sustainable.”

Any other Cardiff venues who would like to be part of the scheme should get in touch before 13th September by emailing Rhiannon at FOR Cardiff via email at rhiannon@forcardiff.com.