Aarhus residents have now returned over one million reusable cups

In the beginning of June the number of reusable cups returned in the city's REUSEABLE machines passed the one million mark. The willingness of Aarhus residents to lead the way and try a new solution for takeaway packaging has saved the environment and the city the equivalent of approximately 10,000 trash bins filled with disposable cups.

Disposable cups are among the 10 most common types of plastic found in Danish nature, and about half of the waste collected in Aarhus is takeaway packaging. But since the beginning of 2024, it has been possible in Aarhus to enjoy your coffee and smoothie on the go without the cups and mugs turning into waste after the last sip.

Together with TOMRA, Aarhus Municipality launched REUSEABLE in January 2024, which is the world's first automated deposit system for to-go cups.

"I am proud to live in a city where both businesses and residents are willing to try new innovative solutions. We use enormous amounts of takeaway packaging in Denmark, and our experiment in Aarhus helps support the development towards more standardized reuse solutions, so hopefully, much less packaging will end up as waste after a short period of use," says Nicolaj Bang, councilor for Technology and Environment.

As a customer, you pay a deposit of five kroner if you choose a reusable cup for your to-go drinks. The deposit is automatically returned to your payment card when you return it to one of the 25 REUSEABLE return machines in Aarhus city center.

On average, 2,500 cups and mugs are recycled per day, and 84% of surveyed users are satisfied or very satisfied with the system.

"We are really happy that the residents of Aarhus and the city's guests have embraced the system so well. The more we reuse, the less waste we create. And it's a bit wild to think that a million reusable cups lined up next to each other would fill the entire path around Brabrandsøen. It is a significant reduction in the city's waste volume," says Kim Gulvad Svendsen, city life manager, Technology and Environment, and continues:

"At the moment, we are testing the possibilities of expanding the system with more types of reusable packaging. At the same time, we are collaborating with various of the city's major cultural institutions to adapt the system so that it fits even better for large events and happenings."

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