Disposable cups have become a major issue and contribute significantly to plastic waste worldwide. As Steve Clarke, Commercial Director at re-universe, states, "Attempts to improve the recycling of single-use disposable cups are starting at the wrong level of the waste hierarchy. We should be stopping cups entering the waste stream in the first place."
re-universe has developed a smart solution to this problem and has partnered with well-established brands and organisations such as Evian, The Eden Project, and Blenheim Palace. AZoCleantech set out to find the answer to a simple yet important question: how is re-universe using smart technology to help remove disposable cups from the waste stream?
To start us off, can you give us an overview of the current environmental challenges surrounding disposable cups?
In a nutshell – they’re a nightmare! The UK alone gets through an estimated 3-5 billion disposable cups every year. Each cup carries an average CO2e burden of 61 g, a lot of emissions from a seemingly benign, everyday product.
It’s technically feasible to recycle them, but the reality is only a tiny percentage are. The rest are sent to landfill, or at best incinerated for energy from waste. There have been various schemes attempting to incentivise people to recycle them, but they have repeatedly failed.
The clue to that failure is in the language “single-use” and “disposable” - what does that suggest consumers should do with them once they’ve consumed their drink?
Attempts to improve the recycling of single-use disposable cups are starting at the wrong level of the waste hierarchy. We should be stopping cups entering the waste stream in the first place. Creating expensive schemes to try and recover a small percentage of the waste material is like making more towels to mop up an overflowing bath, instead of just turning the taps off.
That’s why we were keen to take part in the Isle of Man Innovation Challenge, especially within the Cleantech category. The competition felt like a perfect fit for us, because it’s not just about tech for tech’s sake. It was and is about real-world solutions that can make a tangible, sustainable difference.
The support we received working with government stakeholders to testing ideas within the world's only whole-nation UNESCO Biosphere was genuinely unique and practically aligned with our sustainable vision as we focus on tackling waste and carbon at scale.
re-universe positions itself as a scalable and digitally enabled solution — can you walk us through how your smart reusable cups system works from a user’s perspective?
The beauty of our system is its ease of use. Smart reusable cups are high-quality, durable, and give consumers a more enjoyable drinking experience than cheap, flimsy disposables. Each cup is tech-enabled with RFID tags and a unique QR code, allowing for individual identification and full traceability.
From a user’s perspective, it’s very straightforward – they buy their drink, consume it, and return the cup to any designated return point at any location across the network. This is no different from finding a waste bin for disposable cups. The key difference here is that they may lose a deposit or be charged a small fee for not returning the cup – a soft nudge toward more sustainable behavior.
Image Credit: re-universe
The system is already seeing success at iconic venues such as Blenheim Palace and the Eden Project, and now, through the Isle of Man Innovation Challenge, we’re working to bring the same seamless experience to a national level.
You’ve developed a digital deposit-return scheme (DDRS) that integrates with retailers and consumers — how does this approach solve issues traditional deposit systems face, particularly with low-value items such as coffee cups?
At point of sale, retailers can choose how they want to engage customers, whether by applying a refundable deposit, placing a temporary holding charge on a payment card, or simply rewarding the consumer for the safe return of the cup. This is all done digitally using the embedded technology within our smart reusable cups.
Through our work with Mastercard, we have been able to develop a system where consumers don’t need to download apps or register, they simply pay for their drink with a tap of their payment card. For retailers, it’s just as easy: they add a SKU to their till system to apply the deposit or card hold, to separate it from the food and drink transaction. Making use of existing retail payment systems keeps costs to a minimum for the retailer.
re-universe returnable cup system in collaboration with Circular&Co.
Video Credit: re-universe/Youtube.com
Many retailers and venues struggle to get consumers to engage with reuse schemes. What incentives or behavioural strategies are built into your platform to increase participation?
Firstly, simplicity is key. Making the system as close to what consumers are used to with single-use cups makes it easier for them to adopt it.
Secondly, adding a meaningful deposit or creating a holding charge incentivises the return of the cups. Whilst we would like cups to be returned without such incentivises, the behavioural research and our own experience make it very clear that to achieve high return rates consumers need that nudge.
We see return rates consistently above 90% using our technology alongside these incentives.
One of the major hurdles in the reuse ecosystem is traceability. How does re-universe ensure that cups are returned and washed before being resold?
The technology built into the cups allows us to track each item from sale, to return by the consumer, to wash, and the return to the outlet for sale again. At each of those stages, the cup’s embedded RFID tag is read by an RFID reader, creating a clear digital journey.
Additional checkpoints can easily be added, such as collection for central washing or shelf stock levels. This creates rich, valuable data allowing smarter decisions to be made, such as when to restock or empty a return point.
Image Credit: re-universe
Importantly, a cup can’t be resold to a customer if it isn’t recorded as having been washed. This robust traceability framework formed a key part of our proposal for the Isle of Man Innovation Challenge, where we developed a scalable model for transitioning the Island to a fully reusable system, demonstrating how technology, data, and infrastructure can work together to support a nationwide shift away from single-use cups.
How difficult is the transition for companies looking to reduce their environmental footprint?
Most of the schemes we have seen fail have done so due to a lack of consumer incentive or a poorly designed return system. We strongly believe that the transition should be a 100% switch from single-use to reuse. This requires an element of boldness from retailers, but the reality is that reuse becomes a cheaper option than single-use as volumes increase, while also generating greater carbon savings.
Continuing to offer single-use alongside reuse means that most consumers default to what they know – the ‘buy, go, throw’ of single-use – which slows down adoption and extends the payback period, so valuable CO2 savings are missed.
We feel the Innovation Challenge is a valuable platform for tech-based businesses that want to reduce their footprint, as it encourages all entrants to embed sustainability at the core of their solutions with advice and help from an expert network within the biosphere setting. This ultimately leads to more scalable, future-ready innovations for broader industry adoption too.
Do you envision your technology being applied beyond cups—for example, to food containers or other single-use packaging items?
Absolutely! The system was originally designed to work with deposit return schemes for bottles, and to cope with billions of items per year. It is very flexible and highly scalable. We often say “any item, any return point” because it can quite literally be applied to virtually any item where returning for reusing or recycling is desirable.
Each item can be uniquely coded with RFID and/or QR coding, making the platform adaptable to a wide range of use cases. We are already talking to customers about cold cups and take-away food packaging. We have received enquiries for a broad range of items - from bicycle tyres to nappies. Who knows what will be next.
What’s been the response from stakeholders so far, and what partnerships have been critical to your pilot programs and roll out?
We have worked closely with Blenheim Palace, a World Heritage site in England, from our earliest version for reusable cups. Feedback from their visitors has informed subsequent developments to make it as user-friendly as possible and now they love it.
Throughout the Isle of Man Innovation Challenge last year, engaging with experts, stakeholders, and peers was invaluable in refining our approach and accelerating our growth.
Our partnership with Mastercard has also been critical to developing the most advanced system available for taking deposits or adding holding charges seamlessly at point of sale.
Looking ahead, what are your goals for scaling the re-universe platform nationally or internationally—and what’s needed to make that growth successful?
Our system works with any currency; we have already run successful trials in the Republic of Ireland using Euros. We believe we have world-leading technology to make reuse happen anywhere in the world. We have built an excellent pipeline of potential customers. To convert that into successful growth will require additional financial and human resources.
Finally, if you could change one misconception people have about reuse versus disposable items, what would it be?
One of the biggest misconceptions is about hygiene. Smart reusable cups can be cleaned just as successfully as any other catering item. No-one asks for disposable plates and cutlery in a restaurant.
Where can readers find more information?
Follow re-universe on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/re-universe/
www.re-universe.com
About Steve Clarke
Steve enjoyed a successful career in accountancy running a top regional practice and sitting on the board of its international network overseeing strategy across over 20,000 people in more than 100 countries.
Since 2016, Steve has developed a portfolio of non-executive and executive roles. These have involved a diverse range of organisations from startups to a FTSE-100 subsidiary. He has been hands-on delivering projects from the smallest businesses to working with the Bank of England and financial institutions on supply chain risk.
For the last five years, Steve has been immersed in the circular economy at executive level and as an advisor to governments on digitizing recycling and reuse.
About the Isle of Man Innovation Challenge
Further information about the Isle of Man Innovation Challenge can be found at: https://www.digitalisleofman.com/innovationchallenge/
The Isle of Man is the world’s first entire jurisdiction to be recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere, reflecting its commitment to sustainability and balanced development across its economy, society, and environment.
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited (T/A) AZoNetwork, the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and Conditions of use of this website.