Helen Tandy, Founding Director, Eco Communuties
We launched our returnable coffee cup scheme into Chester nearly a year ago, May 2023 to try to reduce the amount of single use cup waste and litter in the city.
Fifteen local cafes support the scheme, but operation and monitoring have presented some challenges. The team approached local tech company (and fellow GAS ambassadors) Loyalty Pro to see if they had any ideas of how they could improve the scheme by simplifying the processes with new technology.
The Loyalty Pro team have been able to incorporate all the participating cafés into it’s recently launched One Chester App and are now trialling a new way of handling cup usage at the Green Day Café in Westminster Park.
Rob Meakin, MD of Loyalty Pro and architect of the One-Chester App commented: “We were pleased to lend a hand to a fellow not for profit to help the team, the One-Chester app has the ability to record visits to retail sites in the city via the use of QR codes. We tweaked this to handle the issue and return of cups from the cafés to make the whole process simpler for both cup users and café owners. Plus, there’s the added benefit of providing valuable statistics on the usage to the sustainable cup scheme. Replacing the plastic token although made from recycled fishing nets, with the app removes a little more plastic from circulation – every little helps!”
The One-Chester app is free to all and available to download from www.one-chester.net
The Green Day Café opened and quickly joined the Cheshire Cup Club family of cafes allowing families to take hot drinks outside in returnable cups saving waste. The café then washes the cups and put that back into circulation for the next person. Ken from Green Day Café ha agreed to support the next phase of the cup scheme through the trial. The idea is to use the One Chester App to replace the tokens currently part of the scheme. If this is succesful we will roll thi our to all our Chester venues.
How does it work?
You join Cup Club for £2.50 which gives you unlimited use of the cups available in the participating cafes. All you need to do is join, get your coffee (or any hot drink of course) in one of the returnable cups and when empty drop it to any of the cafes in the scheme who will wash it and reuse it for the next customer. It’s estimated that 94% of us own a reusable cup but don’t carry it with us – no need – the Cheshire Cup is ready to use when you need that take away coffee to get you through the day. The concept is a true circular one, borrow, use and return.
Support Cheshire Cup Club £2.50 donation to become a member. – JOIN NOW
You can join is via LINK, via the One Chester App or via any participating café.
For a list of all cafes download the One Chester App today from and check out trails..
Sustainable Cheshire 