Promoting the use of reusable coffee cups through environmental messaging, the provision of alternatives and financial incentives

Abstract

It is estimated that 2.5-10 bn disposable coffee cups are used every year in the U.K. Most ofthese cups end up in landfill or as litter, as the majority of poly-coated paper cups are not recyclableor not recycled. Here, we report on a field experiment that was conducted at twelve universityand business sites to examine whether the use of reusable cups can be promoted through easilyimplementable measures. The study found that both environmental messaging and the provision ofalternatives increased the use of reusable cups. While a charge on disposable cups increased their useas well, a discount on reusable cups did not. The effects for the individual measures were modest, butadditive, meaning that the greatest behavioural change was achieved with a combination of measures.None of the measures negatively impacted the total number of hot drink sales. One universitycontinued with the charge after the experiment had finished and distributed more reusable cupsfor free among their students. This boosted the use of reusable cups up to 33.7% across three cafés.This shows that a charge in combination with the provision of alternatives can increase the use ofreusable cups substantially in the long term.