In partnership with Danish tech startup kleen hub, the business launched TAP&REUSE in June 2024 to reduce the environmental impact of disposable cups and make reuse accessible to all. The system enables customers to borrow cups with a single tap of a card or phone.
Those that don’t return their cup after seven days are charged £3 and subsequently own the cup. This approach has since delivered a 98% return rate.
The initiative has been successfully deployed across various sectors and locations, including Dorset’s Moors Valley Country Park, where it is projected to eliminate over 200,000 single-use cups annually, with an annual carbon emission reduction of 20 tonnes.
Dan Dicker, founder of Circular&Co, said: “It’s a real honour to see TAP&REUSE recognised for the role it’s playing in helping to eliminate single-use culture for good. For too long, the shift to reusables has been restricted by a lack of infrastructure and complicated systems plagued by low return and high loss rates.
“TAP&REUSE changes that. We’ve created a solution that’s simple, scalable and genuinely effective, removing the barriers that have historically stood in the way of meaningful change.”
Each of the system’s returnable cups has a carbon footprint equivalent to just under three single-use paper cups. As a result, every drink served after 2.8 uses becomes carbon neutral.