Every minute, over one million disposable cups are discarded to landfill. Using a reusable keep cup for your take away coffee is just one small way you can lessen your impact on our earth. Mosman Youth’s volunteer program, Viewfinders, have developed this quick guide to Keep Cup Etiquette – the fast track to using your Keep Cup responsibly and hygienically!
Keep cups are a fantastic alternative to single use coffee cups! It is estimated keep cup users have diverted over 3.5 billion disposable cups from landfill this year – that’s HUGE! While we know that keep cups have a positive impact on the environment, there is still more work to be done to encourage people to use their keep cup…and remember to!
Part of this is getting your etiquette right – check out our tips below for using your keep cup at cafes:
1. Put your order on your keep cup
Even if you bring your keep cup to a café, sometimes cafes will still use a disposable lid to write your order on (to keep with their system), defeating the purpose of our keep cup use! To avoid this, put your preferred order on a waterproof label stuck to the lid or base of your keep cup – including your coffee type, size and sugars or extra stuff.
2. Wash your keep cup correctly after every use
It’s really important to keep your keep cup presentable and clean when handing it over to a café – unhygienic keep cups can turn off a café and they may not accept it. The best way to clean your keep cup is to dismantle the parts and clean them individually.
3. Ask the café how they like to receive keep cups
Cafes may prefer you to hand over your keep cup in a certain way – best to ask what works for them! This might include the lid on or off for their convenience.
4. Make bringing your keep cup a habit!
Keep your keep cup at work or by the front door so you can easily grab it on your way to a café! Consistency is key – prioritise the habit of keeping your keep cup in mind when going for a coffee.
5. Ask if they are signed up with Responsible Cafes
Some cafes offer discounts for the use of KeepCups and other reusable cups as it saves them money (usually anywhere from 10 cents to 30 cents per disposable cup).
Some cafes might be part of ‘Responsible Cafes’ and display this sticker:
That’s all from us for now! This content was developed by our Youth Volunteers from Viewfinders – a group that focuses on various projects targeting environmental sustainability. We recently put together a fantastic film on single use waste – check it out HERE.
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