Zero Waste Europe this week released its latest case study on the FreiburgCup, showing how a medium-sized city can put an end to the flood of single-use coffee cups thanks to deposit schemes.
ZWE is an European independent initiative bringing together organisations and municipalities committed to work to eliminate waste in Europe.
The publication reports how the city of Freiburg (Germany) has convinced almost 70% of its cafés to introduce the reusable FreiburgCup on a deposit, thus providing consumers with a sustainable and easy-to-use alternative, while reducing litter and raising awareness about disposable plastic pollution.
The case study illustrates how Freiburg succeeded to push for a quick transition from disposable to reusable coffee cups and inspire dozens of other initiatives. According to Ferran Rosa, Zero Waste Europe’s Waste Policy Officer, “The case of the FreiburgCup shows that cities can go beyond traditional waste management and put in place widespread solutions to ditch single-use plastics”.
The publication also highlights some of the challenges that the FreiburgCup has encountered to fully develop, such as the lack of level playing field with disposable coffee cups. Among these, the fact that single-use cups tend to be free of charge for customers, which does not encourage them to rethink their habits.
