Since the pandemic we’ve seen disposable coffee cups hit the scene again, stalling the growing movement away from disposables which has so far saved millions of cups from entering landfill – it’s estimated that Australian’s dispose of 2.7 million coffee cups a day!
While many cafes across Australia have been holding off serving coffee in reusable cups as a precautionary measure, this hasn’t actually been advised against or banned in most state or territory health departments – who confirm there’s no proven benefit for hospitality venues switching to disposables.
Responsible Cafes – a network of 5000 cafes across Australia striving to reduce waste and curb emissions – have responded to the call from waste-conscious cafes and customers across the country to help revive reusable cup use by creating the ‘contactless coffee’ method, which allows for zero contact of a barista with a customer’s reusable cup.
“Cafes across Australia are welcoming customers to bring their reusable cups back into play by using the ‘contactless coffee’ method, recognising the valuable contribution they make to reducing waste” – Jo Horsley, General Manager at Responsible Cafes
But how do you order a ‘contactless coffee’ if it’s not on the menu at your local cafe?
Easy.
All you need to do is ask the barista to make your coffee in a ‘drink-in’ porcelain cup and have them tip it straight into your reusable cup – which you can sit on a napkin or ‘drink-in’ porcelain plate while the pour happens. Zero contact and no disposable cup needed!
