Drink, Rinse, Repeat

Reusable cup campaign

Keele University run catering outlets have relaunched the 'Drink, Rinse, Repeat' Reusable Cup Campaign that aims to reduce single-use cup consumption across campus.

Over 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups are used in the UK every year. Disposable cups are made from a combination of paper and a plastic lining to make them waterproof, but this mixed-materials product make coffee cups difficult to recycle, and infrastructure within the UK to recycle these cups is minimal. The plastic lids are also made from a type of plastic that is not collected as part of the University's waste and recycling service. Disposable coffee cups also require large amounts of water to process trees into paper, so as well as tackling plastic waste, switching to reusable cups can save water and reduce on carbon emissions produced from tranporting and disposing of single-use packaging!

Our 'Drink, Rinse, Repeat' coffee cup campaign aims to increase the number of students, staff and visitors who bring their own cups when buying a take-away coffee and other hot drinks. As part of the campaign 'Eco to Go' reusable cups are sold for £2.95 at University run catering outlets including CENTRAL, Chapters Cafe, David Weatherall Cafe and the Smart Innovation Hub café and are available in three colours – black, red and green. The 'Eco to Go' cups are made from recycled rice husks and bio resin with a silicon lid and band. On purchasing the reusable cup, the first hot drink will be free of charge, and 15p deductions will apply thereafter! The University will make any profit from the sale of the cups. You can also still bring your own reusable cup if you already have one!

FAQs

The Drink, Rinse, Repeat campaign aims to reduce the use of single-use disposable coffee cups on campus. The campaign is a relaunch of the previous scheme that was temporarily halted due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

'Eco to Go' coffee cups are available to purchase for £2.95 from University run catering outlets including CENTRAL, Chapters Cafe, David Weatherall Cafe and the Smart Innovation Hub café and are available in three colours – black, red and green. On purchasing the reusable cup, the first hot drink will be free of charge, and 15p deductions will apply thereafter!

The 'Eco to Go' cups are sold at a discounted price of £2.95 each and the first hot drink will be free of charge! Every time you use your reusable cup for a hot drink you'll get 15p off your purchase. The University will not make any profit from the sale of the cups.

The cups are made from 80% recycled rice husk bound with a bioresin making up the remaining 20%. The rice husks are collected from mills and are processed and moulded into reusable cups. Unlike bamboo cups which are made from purpose-grown raw materials, the Eco-to-Go cup is made from waste material that would otherwise have been disposed of. Rice husk does not burn well and cannot be fed to cattle for example.

The lid and sleeve are made from silicon, which can be reused or recycled at end of use.

The 'Drink, Rinse, Repeat' reusable cup scheme is a campaign to encourage staff, students and visitors to use a reusable cup where possible. The sale of the 'Eco to Go' cups and 15p discount for using your reusable cups relate specifically to University run catering outlets including CENTRAL, Chapters Cafe, David Weatherall Cafe and the Smart Innovation Hub café. The Student Union (SU) and other commercial outlets on campus may have their own schemes in place with discounts on the use of reusable cups.

Although there are compostable cups on the market, they cannot be composted in normal food waste composting facilities. These cups only compost fully in specialist industrial composting facilities which still require further investment in the UK. The campaign also wants to reduce overall disposable waste, rather than create a different type of disposable waste on campus.

Eco-to-Go cups will break down in 2-3 years in a standard composter, and if sent to an industrial composting plant, will break down in just 90 days.

Yes! Eco-to-Go cups are dishwasher and microwave safe. 

Staff can rinse cups in the kitchens in their buildings and the kitchen in the Chapel can also be used to rinse cups. The Students’ Union is currently looking into an additional facility for students to rinse their cups. Unfortunately the catering outlets are unable to rinse cups for capacity reasons.

Yes! Every time you use your reusable cup for a hot drink from University run catering outlets you'll recieve a 15p discount! 

Of course! This campaign is about reducing the use of single-use cups, so although we’re selling and promoting the 'Eco to Go' cup you can still use your own reusable cup.