A new environmental initiative has been launched in an effort to “free Dundee” from single-use takeaway cups.
Orbit Cups is the first city-wide scheme of its kind in Dundee and aims to reduce the number of disposable coffee cups being used in the city.
Local businesses are encourages to sign up to the social enterprise, which will allow customers to borrow a cup in exchange for a £1 deposit.
City centre café Serendipities has become the first to roll out the reusable cups since re-opening and it is hoped more businesses will be inspired to offer the service.
The cups are eligible to be returned to any participating café or restaurant and the deposit will be returned to customers.
Once returned, the cups are thoroughly cleaned – just like sit-in cups – ready to be reused.
The scheme is an innovative take on tackling waste as experts estimate 200 million single-use coffee cups are discarded each year in Scotland.
Founder Caroline Bentley said she was inspired by a similar reusable scheme she discovered while travelling in New Zealand.
She said: “After living in New Zealand with my husband and wee boys for a couple of years, I came home to Dundee and was brought down by all the litter I saw on the streets, overflowing from bins.
“I believe this scheme can be the start of a major shift in Dundee, from single-use items that litter our streets and detach us from our personal responsibility in taking environmental action, to a greater understanding that valuing resources and working together can benefit us all.
“While I want the cup network to be a fun, positive initiative that local people can be proud of and feel part of, whatever their environmental opinions, I also think it’s important to link it to wider issues people strongly about, like ocean pollution and deforestation.”
It is hoped the deposit-return policy will help locals feel part of a city-wide environmental movement that sends a message to producers to limit disposables.
