Shrewsbury single-use cup scheme inspires more than 50 other towns and groups
An initiative to cut single-use coffee cups in Shrewsbury has been such a success that more than 50 towns, cities and community groups are considering adopting the scheme.
Launched last April, the Shrewsbury Cup is a Community Interest Company (CIC) and is supported by Shrewsbury BID and Morris and Company. Together founders Sophie Peach and Alison Thomas aim to eliminate single-use cups in the town.
It is now available in 18 cafes in Shrewsbury as well as one in Much Wenlock and is being considered to be adopted by a BID in another town. Newport also has their own scheme running now with the Newport Cup thanks to Sustainable Newport.
Sophie said: "We are not surprised at the success of the scheme but we are very, very pleased with the response it has received.
"Not only is it being used in cafes we also used it at a number of festivals including KidsFest, Shrewsbury Regatta and the Shrewsbury Food Festival. It is off the back of this that we have had interest from other regattas, such as Chester Regatta and also from elsewhere.
"We have been approached by local authorities, from others BIDS and from plastic free towns as well as community groups. They are all wanting to put a cup scheme in place in their areas.
"What is happening is that, at the moment, there is a huge desire to see change. A lot of people ware wanting to take positive action regarding environmental improvements to reduce waste. People are looking for positive action and this is a really good way of starting a dialogue about waste.
"It is great that Shrewsbury was the first in the country to trial a deposit return scheme.
"We are going to continue to lobby Government to address the use of single-use cups and we need to see something different being done. The time is now for change. We have been so encouraged by the response and relieved that there are people who want to make a positive contribution to their community.
"This really has put Shrewsbury on the map. We want nothing more than for Shrewsbury to remembered for launching the first deposit return cup scheme and we know that people are coming here from all over the country to find out more."
The cup is available in Ginger & Co, Darwins, stop., The Shed and a number of other outlets.
It is made from 100 per cent polypropylene but it is designed to be used hundreds of times – so it’s not single use – in fact, it is using plastic in the right way – it lasts forever so we should reuse it forever. At the end of its life, the cup is fully recyclable.
