Imagine grabbing your morning coffee in a reusable cup—without using an app or registering anywhere—and simply tapping a machine to return it later. That vision is now reality in Aarhus, Denmark, thanks to a city-wide platform for reusable takeaway packaging. Aarhus is the second largest town in Denmark with slightly over 260.000 inhabitants.
⚒️ How It Works
- When purchasing a takeaway drink at participating retailers, customers can opt for a reusable cup by paying a 5 DKK deposit (≈ €0.67). The deposit is conveniently refunded via bank card or smartphone when the cup is returned at one of the many automated collection points spread across the city.
- Once collected, cups are taken for cleaning and quality-check, and then redistributed to retailers for reuse.
- The system is user-friendly as it requires no app, no registration, and is open 24/7.
🌍 Environmental Impact
- By the end of its first year (launched January 17, 2024), over 750,000 REUSEABLE cups had been returned—equivalent to diverting around 7,500 waste bins worth of disposable cups from the waste stream.
- Intermediate data shows that since January 2024, the program saw over 600,000 cups sold, 1,170,000 cups collected, an impressive 88 % return rate, and 18.6 tonnes of CO₂ savings.
- Reusable plastic cups reduce CO₂ emissions by more than 70 % compared to disposables, using about one-fifth the water—50 ml per wash vs. 250 ml to produce a disposable cup.
- A reusable cup needs to be used at least six times to become more environmentally friendly than a single-use cup.
🧑🏼🤝👩 Public Reception & Lessons Learned
- The local survey results published in June 2025, ie. one and a half year after launching shows residents’ satisfaction rate of 84%, especially regular users—the more frequently people used the system, the more satisfied they were.
- A Reddit thread reflects user positive experience from “reusable cups being much nicer to drink a coffee from than the single use ones”.
Aarhus’s REUSEABLE initiative proves that circular solutions can be practical, convenient, and scalable. With strong public buy-in and tangible environmental benefits, the pilot shows how small behavioral shifts—supported by smart design—can play a big role in transforming how cities approach packaging waste.
Sources: Packaging Europe, Tomra, Reusable Denmark, Reddit.
Picture: Freepik
