As of today, the reusable coffee cup system Recup is available in over 50 cafes in Munich. The city supports the startup.
A quick coffee in a paper cup on the go—delicious and convenient. Unfortunately, disposable cups are rather problematic from an ecological perspective: According to the German Environmental Aid, 2.8 billion (!) disposable cups are thrown away annually in Germany alone. This generates 40,000 tons of waste each year.
Starting today, at least Munich residents can actively contribute to reducing the mountain of to-go waste. The Munich startup Recup has developed a reusable coffee cup with a deposit system, which is now in use at more than 50 participating cafés and bakeries.
Customers who purchase a takeaway coffee from one of the participating establishments can, upon request, receive a Recup instead of a paper cup for a deposit of €1. This cup is made of plastic and can be reused approximately 500 times. The customer returns the cup to any other participant and receives the €1 back. The cup is then cleaned on-site in the dishwasher. An overview of which establishments accept Recups can be found here: https://app.recup.de/
City of Munich supports Recup
The city of Munich is supporting the startup as part of its "Clean. And tidy" campaign. At a presentation on Marienplatz last week, building official Rosemarie Hingerl about the Recup start in Munich:
“It’s a big deal for Munich.”
Mayor Dieter Reiter added:
“We live in a to-go society and should focus more on reuse.”
The founders have already demonstrated that the model works in a pilot project in Rosenheim, Upper Bavaria. After Munich, the founders plan to equip other cities with Recups and are planning their own designs for each. The founders and managing directors Florian Pachaly and Fabian Eckert say:
“Through customization, we create additional identification with our product.”
The Munich-based startup is already preparing to expand to Berlin and has already acquired the Just-Swap-It reusable cup system there.
