For a year now, the Danish city of Aarhus has implemented an innovative recycling system for reusable coffee cups, managing to recover over 700,000 units. This initiative aims to reduce the environmental impact of disposable packaging and could serve as a model for other European cities.
The system is simple: citizens deposit their white cup with a blue lid into a recycling machine and, within seconds, receive a refund of five Danish crowns (about seven euro cents) on their credit card.
The program, started in January 2023 with a three-year pilot test, aims to reduce the enormous volume of takeout food waste, which accounts for 45% of the city’s waste, according to Simon Smedegaard Rossau, director of Aarhus City’s circular packaging project.
Unlike traditional deposit systems, which are found in supermarkets and accept plastic or glass bottles and containers, Aarhus installed its machines in public spaces, facilitating the recycling of cups for hot and cold beverages. These containers, used on average only 15 minutes before being discarded, pose a global environmental challenge, as less than 2% of single-use plastic coffee cups are recycled.
The key: changing consumption habits
Beyond infrastructure, the project’s success depends on citizen participation. To encourage adoption, 45 city cafes joined the initiative, serving their drinks exclusively in these reusable cups.
At the beginning, the return rate barely reached 25%, raising doubts about the system’s viability. However, a turning point came with the Aarhus Uke festival, where businesses used only recyclable cups. During the event, 100,000 units were recovered, enough to fill 1,200 trash containers.
This boost allowed the return rate to increase to 88%, ensuring that each cup is reused an average of 44 times.
Expansion and future goals
The success of the first year exceeded expectations: 500,000 cups were expected to be recovered, but the number reached 735,000, avoiding the incineration of 14 tons of plastic and reducing CO₂ emissions.
By 2025, the Aarhus City Council expects to collect 1.5 million cups annually and expand the system to nearby cities and other food containers. The initiative was included in Denmark’s national financial plan, ensuring funding and institutional support.
If expanded nationally, the project could significantly reduce the use of disposable packaging, which currently amounts to 500 million per year in Denmark.
A model for Europe
Cities like Barcelona, Berlin, Leuven, and Paris have also begun to strengthen their reuse systems to combat the waste crisis. These initiatives align with the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which establishes a 5% reduction in per capita packaging waste by 2030, with more ambitious goals for 2035 and 2040.
However, transitioning to reuse systems requires legislative support to cover implementation costs and overcome logistical challenges. Policies such as taxes on single-use packaging, incentives for sustainable options, and bans on disposable plastics will be key to accelerating this change.
The coffee cup recycling system: the future of reuse?
“Aarhus is just the beginning,” says Nathan Dufour, from Zero Waste Europe. “Cities are leading the way, but we need national support to achieve true transformation.”
The reuse revolution is underway, and Aarhus demonstrates that, with the right combination of technology, public policies, and citizen participation, it is possible to drastically reduce the environmental impact of disposable packaging.
The 4 Rs of recycling: key to a more sustainable life
The 4 Rs of recycling reflect a change in perspective and attitude. Being aware that an object’s life can be extended is essential, as it will prevent the planet’s resources from being depleted too quickly or irresponsibly. It is time to act. Many already know the necessary behaviors we must adopt in our daily lives to help the environment through recycling.
While there are people of different nationalities who deny the existence of climate change, it is already a reality we must face. We can all contribute to mitigating and stopping this problem by doing our part.
Until recently, the focus was on the 3 Rs in recycling. However, with time and the emergence of concepts like sustainability, resilience, and circular economy, the need to add a fourth R became evident. Today, the recycling concept includes: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Recover.
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