The Responsible Cafes program connects thoughtful cafes with conscious consumers by encouraging cafes to offer a discount to customers with reusable takeaway cups.
Australians throw away more than one billion takeaway coffee cups every year. Despite popular belief, the cups and lids are difficult to recycle and 90 percent end up littered or in landfill.
The Town of Victoria Park, in partnership with Switch Your Thinking, Responsible Cafes and Keep Australia Beautiful WA, are calling on cafes to offer a discount to customers that bring their own cup.
By passing on the cost of a cup and lid to customers, saving money and reducing waste at the same time, this not only encourages customers to do the right thing but also increases awareness of the issues surrounding single-use waste, nurtures a culture of reuse and promotes businesses.
How do I get involved?
Visit the Responsible Cafes website and sign up.
What do I get?
There are many great reasons to join. Participating cafes receive:
- Promotion on the Responsible Cafes website, including a spot on their national map on participating cafes.
- Access to a community of responsible cafes.
- Helpful tips on other sustainable practices your cafe can look at adopting.
- Posters that can put up to educate customers about the issue.
- Promotion on social media.
- A batch of Switch Your Thinking keep cups that can be distributed to customers.
How can I encourage my customers to bring their own reusable cups?
We've found that the best incentive is to make sure your customers are aware of the discount that you're offering. Having your Responsible Cafes poster visible at the point of ordering is a great way to get the conversation going.
It also helps if your customers understand why you're being kind enough to offer the discount - you can get them to read the Responsible Cafes poster, engage with them about being an awesome part of the solution for reducing the amount of single-use takeaway cups that get wasted each year, or tell them to have a look at the Responsible Cafes website.
You could also:
- Sell reusable cups in store and give the first coffee for free.
- Have one day each month where you double the discount.
- Have a referral system where customers get a free or discounted coffee when they get a friend to buy a reusable cup from you.
I want my local cafe to become a Responsible Cafe, what can I do?
Speak to them next time you order your coffee and point them in the direction of Responsible Cafes. If your local cafe is in a Switch Your Thinking Council area, they’ll also receive a batch of Switch Your Thinking keep cups to distribute to their loyal customers.
How can I reduce the amount of waste I send to landfill?
- Take a reusable cup to the cafe every time you order a takeaway coffee.
- Start a conversation with the person making your coffee about Responsible Cafes.
- Switch Your Thinking is partnering with community groups to help spread the word. Send an email to find out more information.
- Refuse other single use items such as plastic straws, water bottles and cutlery.