Council to subsidise Nelson cafés joining takeaway cup bond scheme

January 17, 2020

The city's landfill has stopped taking single-use coffee cups, prompting a new solution to be found.

A council subsidy is being offered to cafés and coffee carts in Nelson to take part in a takeaway cup bond scheme.

Nelson City Council is offering up to $120 to cafés and coffee carts to take part in the scheme where they have not already received support to do so.

The programmes CupCycling or Again Again allow customers to “borrow” a cup from the café for a small fee, and either return the cup to any participating cafe to get their bond back.

Alternatively, they can swap it for a new cup.

The council’s group manager of infrastructure, Alec Louverdis, said the vast majority of disposable takeaway cups are not recyclable and end up in landfill.

“Nelson City Council is committed to reducing waste, the subsidy is there to help cover the set-up and initial operational costs.

Seven Sharp's Rebecca Edwards went to see whether all of our coffee cups are being recycled.

“The principle is much the same as the subsidies we already offer for compost and e-waste.”

“The bond is 100% refundable, so the cup can either be returned, or swapped for a clean cup. If a customer keeps forgetting to return their reusable cup, they can just pay another bond, until they remember to bring their cups back to any participating café.

“The cup bond programme is a step in the right direction to creating a more sustainable environment for us and future generations.”

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