Reuse Without the Hassle – A Solution for the Workplace

The average professional in the city owns 6 reusable cups yet 95% of takeaway coffees are purchased in disposables. Why? Because it’s easier… Reusable coffee cups may have been made into beautiful products, but their functionality falls short on convenience. For reuse to deliver meaningful impact, we need to design beyond the cup, into a system that fosters widespread participation. In a world driven by convenience, this system must have a more effective solution to disposable cups that is free of common barriers and viable for cafes to use at scale.

Cercle reduces single-use waste created by building occupants in spaces such as a workplace by providing an easy to use alternative. Cercle provides clean reusable cups to the cafe and installs specially designed collection bins, ‘Drop Pods’, in the workplace near the cafe. Once coffee drinkers have had their coffee, the cups are placed into the Drop Pods where Cercle handle the cleaning and returning of the cup back to the cafe.

Within 2 years, Cercle has been adopted by 8 commercial buildings and precincts across Australia, eliminating 0.5M disposable coffee cups from waste. Its unique user base is over 20,000 coffee drinkers and has diverted an estimated 15T CO2e. Coffee drinkers want change; with a successful return rates of 99.6% of uses (no deposit). Cercle has challenged the status quo and given organisations confidence in adopting reuse. Cercle’s push for change has been overwhelmingly positive. Brands such as Macquarie Bank, EY, Deloitte and Minter Ellision, have successfully converted from disposable to 100% reusable overnight with Cercle.

It starts with Cercle Cups and Drop Pods as the vessels for change. Allowing a seamless connection between enjoying your coffee and disposing of waste. No hassle, no inconvenience. Our cups are durable and high quality, improving both the taste and experience. Our collection process is enhanced by the Drop Pods design. Built with a compressed air design for a smooth, controlled drop, cups are never damaged on return. The interlocking cups fall into a single stack for easy removal. The removable interior then allows easy collection and transportation of dirty cups to our wash hubs. We offer on-site or off-site cleaning processes. The cafes are either supplied with the equipment and procedures needed, or a reuse service is implemented where clean cups are delivered by Cercle. Our simple Barcode tracking system gives us insights into impact and the management of assets. Cercle is free to the coffee drinker, allowing mass adoption and a better drinking experience. Our products, processes, and technology are relatively simple, not overly burdensome on the cafes, and provide an economically viable reuse system to drive our one-use coffee cups.