Find out with the Impact Calculator!

Morning flat white on the way to lectures? Iced latte between seminars? It all adds up, including the waste of disposable cups. If you're interested in, or already have, a reusable cup, it's important to keep reusing it to make a real impact. 

By investing in a reusable cup you're committing to a long-term change. A KeepCup Original – one of the models we have available in our cafés – pays off quicker than you might think. After around 24 uses, the environmental impact of making that cup is already lower than using disposables for the same number of drinks. After that, every refill is a win. 

This means that if you use yours every weekday, you'll have offset the environmental impact in just five weeks! 

What 5 coffees a week really adds up to🥤

If you use a KeepCup Original for five takeaway drinks a week for a whole year, you could save: 

260 single use cups

If a takeaway cup is around 9.5c tall, stacking 260 of them would reach roughly 25m high, about the height of an eight storey building. 

5.434kg of carbon dioxide

That's the same emissions as driving an average petrol car around 25 miles. 

0.78kg of plastic

This is around the amount of plastic used in 40-45 single use 500ml water bottles. 

179.271 megajoules of energy

Around 50kWh of electricity, enough to fully charge a smartphone around 2,500 times. 

5.85kg of timber

In paper terms, that's well over 1,000 sheets of A4 paper. 

That's an incredible saving from just yourself, imagine what we could do as an entire uni! 

Curious how your weekly coffee use impacts the environment?

How to make reusing a habit ♻️

The hardest part is not buying a reusable cup, it's remembering to use it every time. Here are some simple ways to turn it from good intention into a habit. 

• Keep it where you leave it – whether that's next to your keys, by the kettle or in your bag.
• Make the most of rewards – get 2 stamps on our café loyalty card every time you get a drink in a reusable mug or cup, and get a free coffee or tea after every 10. 
• Rinse it when you're done – nobody wants to discover yesterday's latte in your cup, as soon as you get home or back to halls give it a quick rinse and leave it to dry for next time (or ask a member of staff to do it in our cafés). 

There's lots of little ways to help you use your reusable more, and keep reusing it. The little bit of effort that goes into remembering is so worth it. Find out more about the wealth of benefits of using a reusable cup.

Interested in making the swap? You can get a KeepCup from any UAL cafés. 

Contact: 

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