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BUT RE-USE MOMENTUM SET TO CONTINUE

Following the successful return of more than 11,000 reusable coffee cups and enthusiastic participation from residents and businesses alike, Cardiff’s pilot Refill Return Cup Scheme will come to a close at the end of May.

The Cardiff Refill Return Cup scheme was launched and delivered by FOR Cardiff with support from City to Sea and funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It aimed to reduce the city’s reliance on single-use coffee cups by enabling customers to ‘borrow’ a reusable cup from one of the participating venues via a digital app, then return it to any other participating venue, for free.

Over the course of eight months, the pilot demonstrated strong appetite for reuse – boasting an exceptionally high cup return rate of 97% – and has also laid the groundwork for similar models to be implemented across the UK.

REUSE MOMENTUM SET TO CONTINUE

More than 20 cafes and hospitality venues across the city centre joined forces to create a circular, city-wide reuse network as part of the Cardiff Refill Return Cup pilot.

Following the conclusion of the scheme, most of the venues who took part have opted to keep their reusable cups and continue promoting reuse independently, either for drink-in service, or through their own informal deposit systems – ensuring that the environmental benefits will continue well beyond the pilot’s official end.

Carolyn Brownell, Chief Executive at FOR Cardiff said: “We’re proud to have facilitated this pilot, providing the cups that many businesses will now continue to use beyond the scheme. That ongoing reuse is part of the lasting impact it will have; supporting local businesses, reducing single-use waste, and setting a precedent for what’s possible in other cities too.”

Da Coffee in Central Square is one of the businesses who took part in the Cardiff pilot. Dylan Randell – Head Chef said “Taking part in this pilot scheme was a no-brainer for us – we saved over £800 on takeaway packaging, connected with a brilliant community of like-minded businesses, and showed our customers we’re serious about sustainability. We’re really proud to be continuing with our own informal reuse scheme now that the pilot is ending, and hope more people will keep choosing reuse in their everyday coffee habits.”

The final date for customers to lease a Refill Return Cup as part of the pilot scheme will be Friday 23 May, with cup returns accepted via the Refill app until Friday 6 June.

After that point, the Refill app will no longer support cup rentals & returns in Cardiff —but the reuse movement will continue; Cardiff residents and visitors will still be able to use the Refill app to find hundreds of local locations where they can refill their own water bottles, coffee cups, lunch boxes, and shopping containers, helping to reduce single-use packaging every day.

AN EVIDENCE-BASED LEGACY

The results and insights from the Cardiff pilot are now being analysed by Cardiff Business School and Greenwich Business School, aiming to provide a robust evidence base for cities across the UK seeking to implement or scale their own reuse infrastructure.

“This pilot has provided invaluable real-world insight,” said Jane Martin, CEO at City to Sea, the environmental organisation behind the Refill app. “Cardiff has not only helped reduce waste – saving over 200kg of carbon in the process – but it has also shaped the national conversation on how to build practical, people-friendly reuse systems. We’re proud of our collaborative work to tackle the single-use crisis.”

FOR Cardiff will publish the final findings of the pilot in collaboration with academic partners later this year (Summer 2025).