Smart reusable coffee cups hold the key to scalable reduction of packaging waste
No one would deny that packaging waste is a big issue for the coffee industry. Over 3 billion disposable cups are discarded each year in the UK alone and, due to processing difficulties and low value of the recyclate, just 0.25% of them are recycled.
“We’re dedicated to increasing recycling, but we ultimately believe that encouraging reuse is the best way forward for a more sustainable future,” declares coffee giant Costa.
It’s a stance echoed by chains such as McDonald’s, Starbucks and Caffè Nero, all of whom have trialled reuse systems in a bid to minimise the number of disposable cups that are sent to landfill.
It’s also something that Pragmatic – along with sustainable drinkware specialists Circular&Co. and agile digital returns platform providers re-universe – is tackling with a smart reusable coffee cup solution that automates returns and smooths the path to sustainability. The solution uses near-field communication (NFC)-based tags and is powered by FlexICs, Pragmatic’s flexible integrated circuits.
