Can This City Banish Single-Use Coffee Cups?

If you grab coffee at Aarhus University in Denmark, you won't find disposable cups. Instead, you pay 5 Danish kronor (about $0.76) for a white "REUSEABLE" cup.

Many students, like Emilio Sopprani, even bring their own REUSEABLE cups from home. He collects them for parties and then returns them when he has too many.

How Aarhus is Tackling Waste

These special cups are part of a city-wide project to cut down on single-use packaging. The municipality of Aarhus and Norwegian company TOMRA launched it in 2024.

You can return the cups to over 27 reverse vending machines (RVMs) across the city. These are found in the city center, at the Royal Danish Library, and on Aarhus University campuses. When you return a cup, you get your 5-kroner deposit back.

The REUSEABLE system offers two types of cups: a blue and white one for hot drinks, and a clear, taller one for iced drinks and beer.

Anders Laursen, project manager for REUSEABLE, says they try to keep the reusable cup's price similar to a disposable one. This is because cost often drives consumer choices.

Single-use packaging creates a lot of global waste. In Denmark alone, about 820,000 single-use cups are thrown away daily. This makes up 40 to 45% of all waste produced.

Jacob Rognhaug from TOMRA notes that takeaway packaging is a growing problem worldwide. TOMRA has been looking into reusable options since 2022.

Overcoming Challenges with Centralized Collection

Many cities have tried to ban plastic cups or promote reusable ones. Lisbon, Dubai, Freiburg, Germany, and Petaluma, California, are a few examples. A big challenge is collecting, cleaning, and redistributing the cups.

REUSEABLE solved this by placing collection stations all over Aarhus. In 2025, 89% of these cups were returned.

The project started when Aarhus Municipality wanted to reduce plastic waste, especially downtown. Local baristas wanted a reusable cup system but lacked the resources. Laursen realized there was a bigger opportunity.

In January 2024, REUSEABLE cups became available at cafes, university campuses, and the Royal Danish Library. While city cafes offer a choice, the reusable cups are the only option at university cafeterias and the library.

Esben Luplau, Head of Food Innovation at Compass Group, which caters for Aarhus University, said they saw how many disposable cups were used daily. They knew they had to make a change.

The Student House, a non-profit cafe and bar for students, also switched to REUSEABLE cups last autumn. Emil Wæver from Student House says more people are now familiar with the system.

Success at Festivals and Future Plans

Large events like parties and festivals usually create the most waste. The Aarhus Festival Week in 2025 was a major test for REUSEABLE. Over 160,000 cups were sold, and an impressive 95% were returned.

At Aarhus Pride 2025, Student House only sold beer in REUSEABLE cups. They even set up temporary return stations at the event.

Courtesy of TOMRA / Municipality of Aarhus

Several factors have helped the initiative succeed in Aarhus. Danes, especially young people, are very environmentally aware. They also tend to trust government systems.

Denmark already has a strong bottle and can recycling system. More than nine out of ten bottles are returned. This means Danes are used to such systems, according to environmental policy expert Anders Branth Pedersen.

A 2024 survey showed high satisfaction with REUSEABLE. Eighty-eight percent of Aarhus residents knew about the system, and 84% were satisfied. It was most popular among young people and those in the city center. However, both users and non-users asked for more return locations.

Sopprani agrees there aren't enough machines, but he believes the system effectively solves a real problem.

Since January 2024, over two million cups have been collected. There are plans to expand to other single-use packaging, like salad bowls.

Courtesy of TOMRA / Municipality of Aarhus

Cost is a future challenge. The municipality has spent over 3.5 million kroner (about $535,000 U.S.). For the program to be financially independent, adoption needs to increase eightfold and expand nationally.

Rognhaug estimates each cup needs at least six rotations, with 90% return rates, for optimal success. While return rates are 87-89% and some cups have been used 40 times, more people need to choose REUSEABLE cups.

Most places in Aarhus still use disposable options. When given a choice, most consumers still pick disposable cups. Aarhus has not yet banned or taxed single-use cups, but Denmark is working on a national reuse mandate.

Despite challenges, the pilot program shows promise. Laursen emphasizes that "Every cup counts." He says each returned REUSEABLE cup means one less disposable cup in the waste. After the pilot, the municipality will stay involved, aiming to expand the system "one step, one cup at a time."