A new alternative to single-use takeaway coffee cups is being trialled throughout Hastings cafes.
Hastings District Council is encouraging cafes to join the trial of the Again Again reusable coffee cup scheme.
Approximately 295 million single-use coffee cups are thrown away each year just in New Zealand, which adds up to about four million in Hastings alone.
Most single-use cups also have a thing plastic coating which means they can't be recycled, and compostable cups are causing issues at BioRich, Hastings local composter.
Again Again is a cup made from recycled stainless steel, which customers can reuse.
The idea is customers pay a $3 deposit to borrow a stainless steel cup, which is refunded when it is returned to any cafe within the scheme network.
People can borrow more than one cup, and bring them all back at once.
Cafes participating in the scheme pay a membership fee, and the council is offering to pay almost half the cost to run a six-month trial.
Cupple cafe is one cafe that is on board, as its staff want to minimise the business' environmental impact.
