Hubbub Push For Reusable Cups Has Ambitions To Save 150 Million Paper Cups A Year

Environmental charity Hubbub is announcing their ambition to double the uptake of reusable cups for hot drinks. The initiative has been built using funds collected from Starbucks 5p charge on drinks purchased in a paper cup across its stores nationwide.

Currently 3 billion paper cups are used every year in the UK and it’s estimated that less than 5% of all hot drinks are sold  to people bringing  a reusable cup.  Efforts to increase this figure have seen Starbucks shift sales in reusable cups to 5%, up from 2.2% two years ago. Hubbub plans to work with major retailers  and  independent coffee  shops to raise  this to 10%  of all sales, which would see  a reduction of at least  150 million paper cups a year.

Research released today by Hubbub found that Britons buy an average of 4 take away hot drinks each week,  with 1 in 5 buying  at least  one  a day.  The research also  found  that  over two- thirds  (69%) of people have  their own reusable coffee  cup  but only 1 in 6 say they remember to use them every time they buy a hot drink. The most common reason for this gap in reusable cup usage is consumers forgetting to take their cup with them when they leave home in the morning.   Hubbub also  found  that  the number of people using  reusable cups drops off during the day as people feel uncomfortable asking  retail outlets to wash  their cups and  refill them.

Hubbub will be running  a range of innovative  behaviour change campaigns throughout 2020  to shift this, starting with the Grab  Your Cup  campaign kicking off in Manchester. As caffeine- seeking commuters return to work from the Christmas holidays, a new ear worm will be reminding them  to leave  home  with their reusable cup.  From today, music  lovers  in Manchester will wake up to a new jingle on radio stations, Spotify and YouTube, created by Fun Lovin’ Criminals front man,  producer, BBC Radio  2 and  6 DJ and  all-round  legend, Huey Morgan.

Grab Your Cup aims to remind people to take their reusable cups in the morning, remove any feelings of awkwardness they may have about taking a reusable cup to a store and shift widespread behaviour by making it the norm to drink from a reusable cup. High street chains Caffe Nero, Costa, Greggs, McDonald’s and  Starbucks are being  joined by independent stores across Manchester to share the message and  this will be supported by adverts in the heart  of the city.

Results from the Manchester Grab  Your Cup  campaign will be assessed by an independent agency and then widely shared to inspire more ambitious reuse campaigns in other cities throughout the year.

Huey Morgan said: “Helping rid the planet  of unnecessary plastic  and single use  coffee cups is something I feel really strongly about. My kids are always talking about it, so I was very inspired to get involved. I wanted to make a great song with an important message – hopefully something that cheers people up, gets in their heads and helps them to do their bit for the planet! So, grab your cup cos you know what’s up!”

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “In Greater Manchester we are determined to eliminate single-use plastics and we can all do our bit to make that happen.

While our cafes, hotels and restaurants all play a huge part in this, we need our residents to make  responsible decisions, such  as carrying and using  their own  reusable coffee cup  rather than using a single-use one.

If we all make  an effort to make  these small changes, we really can make  a difference.”

Gavin Ellis Co-founder and Director, Hubbub said: We’re really pleased to have Huey’s support to share the message that a reusable cup is the best environmental option for take- out teas  and coffees, and it saves money too. This collaboration  is a first of its kind for an environmental charity, and Huey has come up with a real ear worm which will help make sure

that people remember to grab their reusable cup  on the way out of the house. This is the first of a number of new approaches we’ll be testing to see if we can shift the needle on reusable cup uptake through positive and playful campaigns.”

Haley Drage  Vice President, Public  Affairs, Starbucks EMEA said: We’re proud to continue our work with Hubbub trialling out of store waste management solutions and raising awareness of the benefits of reuse.  The Grab Your Cup  campaign in Manchester is a unique  way to encourage people to always carry their reusables whilst on-the-go and addresses on of the key barriers to more customer adoption. We are excited to try something new and see the kind of impact that it can have”

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